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The sound of heavy hooves nearly echoed through the quiet of the abandoned streets. The twilight shrouded village unaware of its newcomer.Face covered by the low hanging hood of his billowing cloak, the stranger rode a stallion nearly twice the size of any other through the curling streets of the quiet village. The beast walked with ease through the howling winds, the rising storm giving no fright to the ebony horse as it followed the whims of their rider like a summon.The stranger dismounted and pat a leather clad hand along the beast’s flank. A silent understanding between master and mount. As quiet as it came the horse trotted off into the darkened village to find a place to stand out of the rising winds and impending rain for the night. Far enough to be hidden, but close enough to hear his master’s call.Grabbing hold the thick iron handle of the village’s only inn the stranger pulled the heavy door open and stepped inside, the fierce wind slamming it shut behind him.Only one face turned at the noise, “Good evening!” An old man chirped, nodding his greeting from behind the inn’s old weathered counter, “Are you looking for something to eat? Or maybe someplace to sleep?”“Neither.” The shadow answered, he scanned the room, searching the half visible faces of the inn’s hunched over, grumbling patrons. “Maybe a drink then?” The innkeeper offered instead. “I have a cider fresh from the cellar that’ll make your toes curl.”“Is that so?” Attention pulled back from his search to the inn’s master the shadow approached, the innkeeper taking the motion as his sign to pour half a pint.The stranger stopped before the counter, eyes the colour of amber meeting the old mans grey. He was taller then most Hylian’s, barrel chested with wide set shoulders and hard muscle. He carried himself like a man made of power. A man with purpose beyond the Goddess’s will. “I guarantee it.” He preened.Taking the offered cup in hand he scented the heady cider, the defined notes of sweet apple and clove tickling his nose before sampling, “It’s tart.”“Like I said,” the old man grinned, “it’ll curl your toes.”With a hum of approval, the man took another swallow of the offered drink and set several rupees on the inn’s old scored counter. It was more then enough for the drink, more then enough for ten. The old man took the offered treasure without counting it, quickly tucking his new bounty safe out of sight. “Is there anything else I might offer you?” He asked with greedy hope.“A storm is coming,” The traveler began, his voice like leather and smoke, “it will force a young man who rides this way to seek shelter." He took another swallow, "When he does,” piercing amber eyes gleamed beneath the riders hood, a small glass vile filled with gorish liquid placed where the rupees had been, “poison him with this.”The old man stared, trepidation creeping into his face. “You want me to poison someone? I can’t-”“Do it," the smoke warned, "or I’ll burn this little village to the ground.”TBC
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Night had come and with darkness had risen a storm unlike any the kingdom had ever seen before. Winds like a hurricane coming down from the mountains, bringing with them a rain that threatened to flood. Travellers from near and far sought shelter wherever it could be taken and those lucky found a place at the Inn.Link was no exception to the frantic search for refuge from the storm. Soaked from heavy rains and chilled by howling winds the hero hurried toward the closest point of shelter, a small village inn just beyond Hyrule Fields. “You’re in luck,” An old man called to him as the rushing wind slammed the door shut behind him, rattling the scattered few paintings on the wall with threat of falling. He looked up through soaking blond hair to the Hylian standing warm and dry behind the Inn’s check-in desk. Judging by the gathered patrons in the modest main room it doubled as a bar, “I happen to have one room left.” Hands gnarled with hard work and age searched a drawer Link could not see from his vantage and placed a heavy looking iron key on the counter. He picked up the key with a sopping gloved hand. “It’s small,” the innkeeper warned, “but there’s a fireplace you can dry your tunic near and a bed with coco down blankets.”He touched his chin below his mouth and moved his hand away from his body, Thank you. He said without words, one of the few signs that most Hylians recognized. Not all, but enough. He leaves fifty rupees in wake of the key and turns toward the stairs. The crowd is making good use of the main floor as a tavern. At a quick glance the majority appear to be travelers like himself; cold, wet and happy to be out of the storm. There are several small tables around the room as well as a few long bench tables close to the wall. The smaller tables near the fire are filled, each seating as many patrons as can share to keep close to the fire, indulging in stew and mead.No doubt the small gathering will stay until their tunics dry and their bellies are filled. It’s a nice enough thought, joining the crowed of the inn for food and mirth during the height of the storm, but he just couldn’t bring himself to eat while soaked and cold. The idea of sitting in the main room of the Inn dripping wet was less then enticing. Even with the smell of fresh baked bread and savory meat wafting from the kitchen.He would eat later, he promised himself, once he’d had a chance to warm his bones and his tunic was a little less wet he would go to the main room and search for food. If not, if the kitchen closed before he felt he was ready to join the crowed, then he would go in the morning.Satisfied with his plan, simple as it was, Link climbed the steps leading away from the murmuring main room toward the upper level lined with sleeping quarters. He was tired. Desperate for a good night sleep. In a race against time he had been flying from one end of Hyrule to the other and this storm was his first excuse in a week to take a night off. He smiled a little at the misfortune forced upon him. He would enjoy the sweet reprieve while it lasted.Icy wind filled the hearth warmed inn as the angry wind howled through the lodge door, another stranded traveler seeking safety and heat entering her door to have it slam with the force of the storm behind them.Link paused his ascent, a sudden wave of guilt gnawing at his gut as he hears the heavy footsteps of the new patron approaching the desk. He already knows there are no room left for this traveler to buy, the old man will most likely be forced to turn the guest away. “If it’s shelter you seek I’ve no rooms left to give. I’ve sold my last bed not a moment ago.” The innkeeper must have motioned to him while turning the new arrival away, because Link can suddenly feel him, feel his focus on him as sure as a bee sting.A hero for the people. That was what he was, a title he had never asked for but been given all the same. Always willing to see the needs of others before his own, he would sooner see himself back in the fury of the storm than risk the life of an innocent. He felt the weight of that key in his hand once more, thought of the soft bed and private fireplace. It was a good thought, a nice dream. He let it go, steeling himself to once again brave the storm and turned to return his key to the innkeeper.“What about a chair by the fire?” The newcomer, a man, asks instead. There’s an accent he doesn’t recognize in the masculine notes of the man’s voice, one that makes him think of leather and smoke., “Could you manage that for the night?” The man, Link also notes, is not at all looking at him. The eyes he had felt conjured by a mind made tired with too much travel and not enough rest.A moment of silence stands as the innkeeper considers this request, “I suppose I could allow it, given the storm.” He motions toward the endless creaking of the door, the howling wind shaking it’s heavy weight within it’s frame.Link felt the solid weight of the key in the palm of his hand, thought again of the fire waiting for him in the room, bed he could stretch his soar bones on. How long has it been since he’d last seen a proper bed? A frivolous expense he so seldom indulged…one he could give up for the night to instead take the bartered for chair.“Selfish.” He thought, and continued up the creaking stairs, once more unable to shake the feeling of eyes on his back.He found his room without difficulty, the number three half visible with pealing paint on his rented door. It matched the crooked Hylian number scratched onto the key. He unlocked the door and stepped into a room only slightly larger then Link had expected given the innkeepers fair warning. It wasn’t big by any means; but comparted to a few of the other rooms he had stayed in during his time as a traveller, it wasn’t bad. A bed against the wall, a chair in the corner and a fireplace across from the bed. These three furnishings made up the entirety of the room and Link could reach any of them within two paces of each other.Still, it wasn’t outside in the rain.Closing the door and securing the simple latch lock by the handle Link turns his attention to the private hearth and three logs of wood that lay waiting there with a piece of flint available at their base. He was grateful for the innkeeper’s foresight. Striking the flint with expert ease he watched the resulting sparks dance along a piece of kindling until a tiny ember caught and from it’s glowing light grew the first flame. He fanned it, coaxing the small warmth to greater life until it took, swallowing the wooden logs that rest there.Link made a sound of appreciation as heat bloomed across his face and light danced to fill the room. It was exactly what he needed, and he found the guilt that had been pegging him melted away as he shed his gloves to warm bone chilled hands by the heady warmth.Precious moments passed and soon Link found himself once more able to feel the tips of his fingers. He flexed them slowly, testing the joints before moving his attention to tunic and pants, boots and hat, stripping himself down to nothing and laying each article with care along the hearths face to warm and dry by morning. In the chair he leaned the Master Sword. He would have set it by the bed if not for a window above it.Paranoid, but that was what kept him alive.He tested the window, a solid pull on the shutters the direction an intruder might proceed if they were so inclined to climb in such harsh conditions. It didn’t budge, the hinges holding the wood in place relatively new and the thick board across their front holding them steady against a beating of wind. He would have little to worry about an intrusion from there. Next was the door. He better examined the simple latch that acted as a second lock for privacy. If anyone wanted to come in there would be little done to keep them from barging through. The knob was the real lock for the small room and the simple lock would be easy for anyone to pick if they had a pin and some patience. The latch, Link was sure, could be torn from the wall with one solid push or two. More a false sense of security then any real semblance of safety.Still, he was as secure as he was going to be. Link declared the room as safe enough and finally allowed himself to relax. No one would be climbing through his window on a night like tonight and if someone were to try and pry open his door he would surly wake up. It’s enough to have him falling back on the simple straw bed and pulling the feather down blanked around his shoulders. It’s thinner then the innkeeper had promised it would be, but with the warmth of the fire quickly filling the room the simple bedding is more then enough. He breaths a sigh against the oncoming threat of sleep, his eyes already growing heavy as he turns his gaze toward the fire and watches the dance of red and yellow over wood.It was pretty, pretty and deadly.Just like him.He gave a little smile. No one said the Hylia’s Champion wasn’t a little bit vein. A knock at the door jars him from frolicsome thoughts, his tired mind at once alert as he grabbed his tunic and sword and went for the door. Another hard knock sounds before he finishes pulling the sticky damp tunic back overhead. “Traveller? It’s the Innkeeper.” Link recognized the old man’s voice, a small relief filling him at the knowledge of his visitor, “I’ve brought you some stew.” He hesitates a moment, voice unsure, “It comes with the room.” He finishes. When he still takes a moment to answer the door, settling his tunic in place enough to cover his indecency, the old man is calling to him once more, “Traveller?” Link opened the door before he could pound his fist for a third time. The old man seemed almost startled at Link’s sudden arrival on the other side of the wood. He supposed most guests would have called something out in return instead of throwing the door open without warning. Most people could talk.Awkward startle turning to awkward smile, the innkeeper pushed a steaming bowl of stew into Link’s hands. He seemed almost hesitant as he looked the tired hero up and down. Link might have worried he was poking out if he hadn’t been so careful before opening the door. “You look like you were sleeping, sorry about that.” He apologized, indicating Link’s state of person. He couldn’t remember dozing off but given the state of damp his tunic had reached he must have dozed for at least a few hours.“A few of the men have turned the evening into a bit of a party I’m afraid. I can’t seem to settle them down, you should come down and join us. Not too many things to celebrate these days.” Link didn’t have to listen hard to hear the muffle of voices singing to the tune of flutes and lutes carrying up from the main room.He looked down at his tunic still clinging and uncomfortable against his skin. “Everyone’s wet downstairs,” the innkeeper continued, “But the fire is much bigger, and the company is pleasant.” He watched the small aging figure turn and hobble back toward the stairs. “The choice is yours of course, but you won’t have quite for sleeping until they’re done.”He was a nice old man, Link decided, if a little awkward. He closed his eyes and smelled the stew that had been thrust into his hands. It smelt good, rich with herbs and spices and thick with chunks of heaty root vegetables and meat. This was probably his way of making it up to anyone who had come in after Link and had to settle for a place it the main room if they wanted any shelter from the storm…like the man he’d left to sleep downstairs.A fresh bubble of guilt swelled in his chest. Knight for the people. A small voice sounded in the back of his mind. Honestly Link was his own worst critic.With a half-hearted sigh of resignation, he closed the door behind him and turned the key, taking his dinner downstairs.Not halfway down the steps Link could see how lively the night had become. There was a couple dancing on the center most table, the pair holding hands and spinning as if it were a stage. To the side a small band of three played old bar songs, the trio standing close to the fire to dry their tunics and trousers while they preformed. The rest of the room seem to be eating supper or playing the spoons and everyone seemed to be in much higher spirits then when he’d first arrived. It was enough to confirm that he had dozed while watching the firelight dancing, the evening much farther along then it had been upon his arrival. He finds a seat at an empty table farthest from the warming flames but with the best view of everyone enjoying their night and sits back to watch the couple dance. He supposes it’s better then watching the fire alone in his room, as warm and dry and restful as that had been and finally digs into his stew.It was delicious, the broth was rich and thick with nutty seasoning and large chunks of deer, swift carrot and hearty radish.“Glad you could join us.” A voice like smoke came from behind. “I believe you were the only one who had chosen sleep over food.” Link glanced over his shoulder to the stranger who’d chosen to join him. It was the man in the hooded cloak, the one he was sure had watched him claim the last room. He didn’t seem angry, which Link found came with a touch of relief.Indicating an empty seat at the bench table Link welcomed the stranger to join him with a nod and a smile. The man took it, seating himself by Link’s side as though the table were his own. He was large for a Hylian, both in build and height. Truly a man from lands farther then Link had traveled.He lifted his spoon, letting a chunk of root vegetable plop into his bowl as emphasis to the stranger who kept his face shrouded by the heavy hood of his cloak. Some people were private. Some damaged and shy. He imagined this obvious warrior simply preferred to keep to himself…except it would seem, where Link was concerned. The man looked to him, hood angled to see that Link had indicated his meal. “Is it good?” He asked.Link nodded, scooping another well seasoned spoonful into his mouth. He used his spoon as a pointer toward the traveler as he chewed. “No, I’m not hungry.” He answered, following Link’s silent lead of conversation with ease. It wasn’t sign, Link knew very few Hylians who knew the old language of hands and even less on the outskirts of the kingdom. He didn’t image the traveler would know what he actioned if he tried to make a more proper conversation. Instead he nodded in retort and returned to his meal, the stranger content to sit in silence as Link enjoyed his dinner and the pair listened to increasingly drunken music from the trio at the front.It wasn’t until Link scrapped the bottom of his bowl, full and sleepy, swallowing down the last flavorful bite with a renewed resolve to crawl beneath the waiting blankets of his bed and sleep until morning that the stranger spoke again. “How very surprising.” The man said, watching Link as he dropped his spoon into his bowl and rose from the table to make his farewell. At once the room swam, the floor shifting beneath suddenly unsteady feet. Link stumbled, watching walls that moved like waves as he tried to grab the tables edge and catch himself, “I hadn’t thought Gerudo poison could blend so well with venison.”His fingers, suddenly numb, did noting to grip the tables surface, slipping over age worn wood, he fell. He hit the floor with dead weight, his limbs suddenly like rock. The room continued to spin, tilting and shifting around him as he tried to steady himself, clutch the scored wood beneath him.He needed to move.With a grunt he commended his limbs to move, willed his sluggish, jellied limbs to lift his body from the floor. They refused to comply, movements sluggish and weak as he tried to drag himself from floor. He needed an anchor, something to steady himself against the rocking. He touched the wood of a chair leg, fingers wrapping around the solid spoke and hoped it was enough. He tried to pull, tried to drag his weight with shaking arms away from the danger looming above him.“Is everything okay?” Someone asked, another patron of the inn, someone innocent and well meaning. Someone with no idea of the absolute danger he was in.He wished he could talk, form words and call for help. Instead he groaned, the sound coming out slurred, drunk and desperate.“Too much to drink.” The voice like smoke explained.Breath ragged, movements jerky, Link tried once more to crawl away, lift his body and move on hands and knees. He didn't make it an inch.A hand like a vise took him by the arm and with the effort one might give tearing a bread roll dragged Link to his feet. He carried his weight without effort, holding Link up as he tried and failed to support himself on weakening legs. He groans again, head beginning to lull from side to side. He shakes his head, a weak effort to keep awake and regrets the motion at once. The room is spinning, flying around and away from him as his vision begins to dance. He’s so tired, so desperately tired. He needs to stay awake. He needs to fight the drug, fight the sleep. “A moment of fresh air should do him good.”It takes Link a moment for the words to register, for what the man is saying to settle in his mind. He’s going to take Link outside. He’s going to carry him out into the storm where no one will find him. He tries to grab the arm that holds him, fight the grip that keeps him from the ground and finds he can’t feel his fingers. The man moves him without effort, shifts him to carry like a bride in his strong arms, walking him through the crowed of singing faces without question. They think nothing is wrong. He can’t think, can’t focus his thoughts on what to do as he tries to keep his vision still, fights to keep from passing out. It’s with everything he has left in him that Link makes a fist and aims for the cloaked mans face. The effort is little more then irritating push against the assailant’s jaw. “Keep fighting.” He whispers, voice so low Link almost doesn’t hear the words hissed into his pointed ear, “I would hate for you to make this easy.”Someone is getting the door for them, helping him kidnap Link without knowing, helping him carry him out into the heavy rain and high winds of the stormy night. If he takes him no one will follow. No hunter will find his tracks, no dog will trace his scent. No one will find where he’s been taken.Its his last thought as the wind throws off the mans dark hood and he is met with an image of fire red hair and desert dark skin. He’s only seen him once, a stolen glance in passing and never has he heard him speak. Link can’t help from feeling foolish even as the last tendrils of consciousness uncurl from his mind. How could he have missed it?
Ganon…
TBC
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Link drifted in and out of consciousness like waves on the sea. Lucidness peaking for brief moments like the crest of a wave before crashing back into the deep to tumble in the dark. It created a flip book of moments captured and Link found it challenging to make sense of it all.A man calls out over the wind, an order commanded to his horse. The beast rears up, crying out over the storm, and there’s a feeling of pressure on his back. A hand? The rider is holding him in place, keeping him from falling. He’s over his lap, thick muscled thighs beneath his stomach. It briefly occurs to him that the rider’s hand is steadying him, keeping him from falling off or escaping.At one-point Link manages to lift his head and stare out over the blurry shifting landscape that speeds past him. He fights to sort the moving scenery around him into something half familiar, but as they race toward an unfamiliar horizon, even in his state of disorient Link realizes that he has no idea where he is. He recognizes nothing...not the endless smooth hills and strange trident trees or the fading cliffside disappearing behind them into the distance. Wherever he is being taken it is a land he has not set foot in before.He wakes next to the feeling of movement, the hand on his back rubbing slow soothing circles along the small of his spine. It makes Link groan, shift in protest to the almost affectionate gesture. The movement stops, but only to push him down and keep him in place. There is little Link can do to resists the pressure and after a moment the slow slide of leather glove against him begins again. “Almost there…” The man above him whispers, low and close, breath hot against his ear. It makes the fine hairs on the nape of his neck stand and a knot curl in the pit of his stomach.
No…
When Link wakes again it is to the soft sound of shuffling, meaty footsteps dragging over stone, sloppy and uneven. The noises are alarming enough without the increased disorientation of waking to the steady stillness of no longer being on that damned horse. But it wasn’t just the steady ground that it was paired with, to join the disturbing footfalls was the sound of thick muffled breathing, even breath deep and wet and rattled and all too close.Link blinked himself awake, made his tired eyes open and tried to chase the disorientation away. It didn’t work. There was nothing for him to focus on in the dark, and it was dark. More then dark, it was black.No stream of light tricked through poorly boarded windows or the cracks of a door. Wherever he was, it was deep enough below the surface that no sun would be him here. He blinked his eyes a few more times and tried to see something among the darkness that surrounded him. It was almost enough to make him wonder if he’d gone blind.He lets his eyes drift shut again and instead focuses on breathing. Slowly taking one deep breath, bringing the cold musty air into his lungs and counting as he let it out again. It helps him wake, the chill filling his chest and making him more alert, chasing away the lingering effects of the drug to make him want to sleep.The room, he notes, smells like death.The cloying scent of stale decaying flesh and mildew linger in his nose, its strong enough to leave a taste on the back of his tongue, bitter and potent. He gages. A dungeon then. It isn’t anything he hadn’t expected. Not where Ganon was concerned. The Gerudo King most likely planned to leave Link here until he died, let him starve in the cold and dark, never to see the light of day again.No. That would never satisfy the King of Evil. He would need more, need to see Link as he suffered, waste away to nothing. Which meant that there would be visits and with every visit the potential to turn the tables. In the mean time Link would have to focus his energies on keeping himself alive and in fighting condition; which brought his attention to other details.With his newfound consciousness Link was becoming increasingly aware of pain in his wrists and shoulders. A deep ache that was growing to burn the more he focused on his wellbeing and what might be wrong.It wasn’t a good sign. He must have been hanging there a few hours for the pain to be this sever. The muscles strained from holding his dead weight.Slowly Link stood and the response was immediate, a pain like fire screaming joints to make his teeth grind. He took one deep breath and then another and barred the pain until the initial shock of movement and relief faded to tender throbbing. He was going to be sore for days after this, there was no denying that. Gingerly, he rolled his shoulders and wrists encouraging blood flow and checking for damage.He hurt but nothing appeared to be permanently damaged. Yet. He needed to get down. The longer he stayed locked up in a dungeon, strung against a cold damp wall, the faster he was going to deteriorate.He tested the strength of his chains, the distance they would allow him from the wall. The bindings were solid, fixed tight against the stone that held him. Ganon had taken extra care when locking him away. He was being cautious.It should have been expected when the Gerudo King had venture forth and collect Link himself. Personally overseeing his poisoning, capture and caging. The methodical care he was taking toward Link when he had only ever sent his minions to deal with the hero before was more then a little unnerving. It was disturbing.As were the position of his chains. Their length was short, only a few inches allowed from the wall for Link to move. They kept him spread. He feet shoulder width apart and arms up and out. He was as vulnerable Ganon could make him.Especially given the humiliating sensation of cold stone against his ass. His tunic had ridden up with his shuffling and with it the painful reminder that he had decided to venture to the main floor of the inn dressed in nothing but his tunic and sword. A legendary sword, he reminded himself, he was now missing and a tunic that would act as a permanent reminder to wear small clothes and pants before answering the door. Shirtless was better then pantless.He would have to berate himself for stupid decisions later, after he was free from Ganon and wielding the darkness sealing blade, until then he needed to keep focus. Link turned his attention back to the room. He had hoped that with a little time his eyes might have adjust to the darkness and he would see outlines and hints of objects or other life within the dungeon. As it was all he could see was black. If he got lose, no, when he got lose, he would need to find his way out by touch and sound. He wasn’t looking forward to such as he continued to listen to the wet rattled breathing of whatever else was trapped below the surface with him. He hoped they were rats, though the likelihood of the slow shuffling being one of the quick rodents scurrying over stone in search of decaying flesh or abandoned bread was unlikely. This was something or someone else.He hoped it was a monster. Monsters were easy. He found their weakness, he took them out. A civilian meant trying to break both himself and an innocent out of the castle alive. The later was never an easy feat.With no way to call out to the other occupants of the dungeon and no way of knowing if they were in people or creatures, Link turned his attention to the chains that bound him. He wouldn’t be pulling them free. Even if Ganon hadn’t made the extra effort of replacing the bolts that held them Link’s limbs were stretched too far to properly pull the restraints from their points. Any attempts to tear the metal from the wall would only end in wasted energy. Which only left one more option.He would have to dislocate his thumbs.Hylia…just the thought of popping the joint and trying to rip it through the thick manacle…it was going to hurt. A lot.Inwardly groaning Link felt for the fat little digit on his on his hand, sliding his index finger over the first knuckle and down to the second. He grits his teeth, keeping the finger in place he curled the rest of his fist tight around the digit and squeezed. He felt it pulling, the joint screaming as muscle and tendon pulled to keep bone in place, teeth clenched his gave one final squeeze and it popped. The bone letting go to leave the digit flopping to the side. He silently cursed, taking several deep breaths before curling his hand into a cone and beginning the possibly futile effort of squeezing it through the cuff.His thumb burned. The joint felt like fire as he tried for force the injured digit through the tight cuff. He could feel his skin peeling as he pulled against the awkward angle of the restraint and worked to force it through.Half an inch worked free Link froze. He heard a door. It was close, a short hallway walk perhaps. The squeal of hinges giving entry and with them a sudden light bleed into the room.It let him see them. The creatures, the things, Link was locked away with as they hurried from the light.He hasn’t seen monsters like these before. Bodies like stone held together with leathery skin dried so taught it was torn over joints. He could see peeks of muscle and sinew through the peeling gaping flesh…and their mouths, teeth bared where lips should have hidden them, the skin looked chewed…as though they’d been eaten.Worst of all perhaps were their eyes…pupils blown wide and filled with the milky haze. They had been watching him in the darkness. They were looking at him even as they pulled back deeper into the shadows…they were watching...and they were hungry.He jerked the chains that held him without thinking.The only thing standing between him and those teeth were the bars of his cage.Footsteps brought the protective light closer to his cell. He closed his eyes against the brightness, the sudden light painful after so long in the dark. “Did you sleep well hero?” He squinted, let his eyes adjust.Ganon. He straightened his back against the cold wall, squaring his shoulders to face his enemy. He may hold the upper hand, but Link was far from surrender.“Are you looking for a fight?” The Gerudo king asked, securering the torch in a sconce and pulling a key from his belt. He unlocked the heavy cell door and stepped inside, precise steps caring him to just a foot away from the hero in question.One foot. It was close enough for Link to feel the larger mans breath move the stagnant air of his cell. So close to the monster haunting Hyrule and he couldn’t so much as kick him like a child.“You won’t be winning any battled down here boy.” The comment confused Link for a moment before he realized that he must have seen his struggle against the chains, his reaction upon seeing those things. He’d chosen to view Link’s behaviour as rebellion instead of fear. Link would admit it was better to be thought rebellious then Ganon know Link’s discomforts.It was then Link noticed the plate Ganon had brought into the cell with him. It made him suddenly aware of exactly how hungry he was. It was a small plate featuring simple fair. Bread, some kind of berry Link hadn’t had before and a few nuts. “Hungry?” Link looked at the plate and back to Ganon. The man wasn’t about to release his chains so he could eat. Which meant this was a battle of pride.Was Link hungry enough to eat from Ganon’s hand?He picked up a nut, rolling the morsel between gloved fingers before presenting it to Link. He could smell the nut pressed against his lips, it had been roasted, seasoned with something light and herbal. The flesh was sweet when he bit into it, light and still warm from the skillet. Ganon waited watched with cool interest as Link fought the internal battle of pride and need before opening his mouth to accept the next offered morsel.He grinned, thin and wide. Link’s submission marked him as winner of this battle. A far easier won victory then anticipated. Pleased he selects a berry from the plate to offer next, lifting the ripe sweet treat just in time to feel the nut bounce off his jaw; a wet mark of spit left where the savory bite made impacted. He let the berry fall, dropping it to roll along the dirty packed floor to wipe the smear of spit from his jaw.Link grit his teeth and waited for the strike.It didn’t come.“That was a truly foolish thing to do boy.” He told him, cool amber eyes leveling rebellious blue. “There is no soul in all Hyrule who knows where you are. No one to save the hero and no one to save Hyrule.”The plate clatters to the floor, berries and nuts bounding to the corners of the room. “No one is permitted entry to this dungeon but myself,” He tells him and Link’s stomach sinks.No change of guard. No easy monsters to disarm or distract.Just Ganon.“Try not to die before I return.”He took the torch with him as he left, the threads of light disappearing down the short corridor with his receding footsteps.As the last of the torch light disappeared beyond his reach movement began in the darkest corners of the dungeon, shadows moving forward, their long spindly arms reaching through bars of his cell, maws opening in search of his flesh with their chewed away lips and eyes blown wide by an eternity trapped in the darkness.They reached for him, fingers grasping for his legs, for his face. Whatever they could reach. Link pushed himself back against the wall staring with wide eyes into the milky depths of the creatures.His heart pounded. Lost and alone with no weapon and no plan of escape, surrounded by monsters the likes of which he has never faced before.The door opened, the same sharp squeal of hinges, the same sound that had brought the light now taking it away.He swallowed down his growing fears as the door closed and the lingering threads of light faded to nothing.Left once more to the cold of his cell and dark of the dungeon, Link was once again alone with the eerie sounds of shuffled movement and wet breathing. Only now he knows what company is kept.He was sure he could still see milky eyes staring at him in the dark.TBC
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One of the reasons Link had always done well as a warrior is his unnatural tolerance for pain. Most people Link has known lack the ability to stand a breath away from death and still pick up their sword and fight. Goddesses know he’s long since lost count of the number of battles he’s fought and won with broken bones and oozing wounds. He suspects that it’s his ability to ignore screaming nerves and get back up to fight with nothing but sheer determination, even when all seems to be lost, that allows him to wield the Master Sword.It’s that determination he uses now.Light gone and only company the creatures lurking outside his cell with wet rattled breath Link knows he can’t let himself sit still and wait for the opportunity to escape to present itself. Not with Ganon holding the only key and intent on seeing to Link personally for his foreseeable incarceration. The Gerudo King will not be as easy to fool as his followers.Link will have to make his own opportunity, force fate and chance to work in his favor.But first…He bites back a groan as an ache like a knife reminds him that he won’t need to worry about any attempts to escape if he allows himself to become to weak to fight off the monsters. What he needs more then anything is water, but he knows from his short time in the torches light that none is to be found in the tight confines of his cell.There is, however, food.The plate and morsels it had contained are scattered over the packed dirt floor of his cell and that was a start.There was still the problem of reaching it while keeping a safe distance away from the hands groping through the bars of his cell, clawing and desperate.At least he knew the answer to one of those problems.The issue Link was having with his hand, why he hadn’t finished his master plan of breaking out of his chains, was the swelling that had ensued after dislocating his thumb. The short period he hadn’t been able to work the limb free during Ganon’s visit enough to let the swelling seal his screaming hand midway and prevent him from slipping out.He tested the metal loop again now, tugging and feeling for the thickness of his hand against the hole.Swollen and hot, he could feel each pulse of blood through the constructed extremity.He cursed silently, grit his teeth he pulled. At first it didn’t budge, nothing but the harsh pull of his wrist against the tension of chain, pain radiating though his arm and bruising digging deeper and deeper into sensitive flesh. A new fear of losing his dominant hand ticked the back of his mind just as fresh blood oozed from the peeling skin. New slick seeped along the crevice of the manacle and with one last pull his hand popped free.Shaking, Link took a moment for himself to just stand still and breath. This was torture. Ganon hadn’t so much as touched him since binding him in this dungeon and still Link found himself being tortured.He knew what was next would be worse then the escape. He’d let his thump sit too long, get too swollen and wrenched. This was going to be a new kind of agony. He stretched himself to the side and reached for his other hand, still chained high above him. It nearly unbalanced him, nearly had him slip to be caught with that horrible chain. It would have hurt as much as the dislocation, pulled his tender shoulder more than it was already suffering. Almost.Instead he placed his bad hand into his good one and felt for the popped thumb, felt for the angle of the joint it had been pulled from and then he pushed.His scream was muffled by the fabric of his tunic, face buried in his shoulder and biting down hard on cloth as he relocated thumb and gingerly moved the tortured digit. It felt like fire. The pain searing and radiating through his whole hand with an aching pulse.He cursed silently and gave himself no time before doing it again, feeling for the same fat digit of his still cuffed hand, making a fist around it and wanting to scream as the thumb popped from bone and pulled his hand out. It goes much faster the second time, painful without the same degree of agony as the first.Oddly, he notes, it makes it more difficult to stand. His balance thrown by the spread placement of his feet and proximity to the wall. He hadn’t realized how much the cuffs had been assisting in keeping his balance until they were gone.Link groans as his luck continues to worsen. It’s harder to pop the thumb back in place on this hand, his other already stiff from the first round and paining even as he forces himself to find the bones and grip, push the bones together and wiggle until they grind and pop back in place.He drops to his knees and more muscles are screaming, his back and legs reminding him they are not use to such treatment.He lets himself sit still now for several long unmeasured moments, focusing on nothing but his own breathing until the pain dulls to something more manageable and he’s ready to move. Time isn’t nearly as sensitive now that a rest position has been reached. He won’t be crippling himself quite so bad with the ability to sit, awkward as it may be, it was better then waiting for his shoulders to seize completely.Link shifts and there’s just enough length to the chain to allow Link to sort of spread legged kneel. It isn’t comfortable, but nothing’s been since getting there so he ignores the protest of his knees and instead begins sliding his hands along the floor in search of fallen food. Packed dirt scrapes beneath his finger nails as he looks, feeling for something different, something alien from the course feel of earth beneath his hands. He finds it when his fingers touch something smooth, almost round. He lifts the unknown little piece toward his lips and touches it to his teeth for an experimental chew.Link winced as teeth ground against unforgiving rock. It’s enough to make to make him cringe, dropping the stone. He finds two more pebbles before his fingers touch something soft. He picks up the hidden treasure and brings it to his lips, touches the delicate flesh against his own and feels the give in the fruit before slipping it into his mouth. A berry. He chews the small bruised fruit and a splash of tart juices spread across his tongue. It barely wets his lips and does nothing to quench his thirst or curb his hunger, but he’s never been so grateful for the thin juices and small flesh as he is in that instance. He spreads his hands along the floor and once again searches for more. When Ganondorf dropped the plat the barriers and nuts had rolled far and wide. There was the very real chance that with how few pieces that had been brought down to begin with, Link might not find anything more then that first lonely berry.His stomach growls, a reminder of how long its been since his last meal and he keeps searching, hands skimming dirt and rocks for the thing he wants most of all. The bread roll. He’d seen it roll across the floor. It hadn’t flown nearly as far as the others, bouncing close to where the plate had fallen.Maybe a little closer to the bars, a little farther from the wall…Link stretched his arms farther, pushes his length away from the stone wall still chaining his ankles awkwardly apart and increased the radius of his sweep.Boney fingers wrap around him and squeezed.The pain was instant. His bones grind against each other, the pain in his swollen joins shoot through his arm like a lightning strike. A pained cry escapes Link’s lips before he can catch it and the beast, one of those things pulls harder.His shoulder starts to ache, the muscles burning around the socket and bone as he’s stretched as far as the cuffs around his ankles will allow, the beast wrapping its second hand around his wrist.He never would have guested from their wasted form the strength hidden beneath their skin. His shoulder screams, twisting, stretching, threatening to pop. He feels nails, no CLAWS digging into his wrist as he’s dragged as far as the chains wrapped around his feet will take him. He fears his arm may be ripped off as he struggles to get away from the thing pulling him along. He can feel thick rivets of blood dripping from wrist, coating the claws that hold him.Panic and fear wrap like a tight wire ball around his chest. He only has one choice. It could ruin his hand, he may never hold the master sword with it again. But there isn’t time to think of anything else.He angles his feet like anchors against their cuffs, grips his arm with his other hand and pulls himself back toward the wall with everything he has.Slicked with blood the beast looses it’s grip, Link’s hand sliding free with a new assortment of deep flesh peeling gashes running from wrist to fingertip.He pushes himself back against the wall, huddling his hand close against him and tearing lengths of tunic to quickly wrap it in. He needs to save it, he needs to stop the bleeding and bind it tight enough to hope it heals. A new sound fills the cell among the silence and rattled breathing, the long messy slurps of tongue. The sound of that thing licking up his blood.Link feel the blood pumping through his veins turn to ice, a voice like broken glass making every hair on his body stand on end. “More…”He hears it speak.
“More…moooooooooooooooore!”
OoOoOThe familiar creek of hinges preludes the light that bleeds the short hallway, the scuttles of skeletons clad in leather hurrying to escape the light. Even this dimness of the torch so far from the cell hurts after so long left in the darkness, and yet he doesn’t move. Doesn’t lift his tires eyes to meet the owner of the heavy steps that walk the packed dirt hallway to his cell.Armoured boots stop before his unfocused gaze, beyond the thick metal bars of his cage. He hears the key turning, the sound of metal scraping metal and watches those boots come closer, one steady step followed by another until they stand barely a foot from his person.He’s tired. Exhaustion evident. He hasn’t slept since nearly losing his hand, hasn’t tried a second time to seek the food scattered in his cage since nearly escaping the creatures deadly grasp. Link sits kneeling, back against the wall. He’s sure he’s dying, starvation and thirst taking their slow tole on his body.“Quite the mess you’ve made hero.” He can see how deep the gashes go, the edges of wounds hidden beneath blood drenched tunic strips visible along the edges. His hands are purple across the knuckles of his thumbs and meat of his palm, still sore and swollen from their abuse escaping the manacles.Link wonders if Ganon expects him to say something. He wonders if maybe the Gerudo doesn’t know that the hero of legend is mute.The imposing figure of the Gerudo King takes a knee, strong fingers grabbing Link by the chin to force tired blue eyes to meet strong amber ones. The rough skin of his fingers is warm against the dungeons cold and smell of horse-riding leathers. It’s the most heat Link has felt since being trapped in this darkness and it takes more effort then he cares to admit not to lean into that warmth and soak as much of it into his skin as he can. “It suits you.” He smiles, crooked and wide, eyes bright with mirth and something more. “It’s been three days since my last visit boy.”Three days.He lets the number sink in. The reality of it, his thumb grazing the skin of his cheek with false affection.Three days since Link had been taken from Hyrule. Three days since he’d landed a place to die in Ganon’s dungeon. Three days wasting away.He takes his hand away and Link almost cries out at the loss of warmth. “A long time to go without sustenance.” Instead he watches strong fingers twist the lid from a flask and a small puddle of water pour into his other ungloved hand. He offers it to Link. “Do you know how long the Hylian body can survive without water?”Link swallows, throat dry, clicking as he resists the temptation placed before him. “The Gerudo have completed extensive studies on the effects of dehydration.” He can smell it, the light scent of moisture. “The tole it takes on the body.” He touches the edge of his hand against Link’s lips, chapped and dry, and tips the pool to touch him. “You must be desperate.”The feel of it, cool and wet touch against his mouth. He tries to resist, wants to win this battle of wills as he had the first one, but the tip of his tongue pushes past parched lips to taste the cool temptation seemingly without his permission. It could be poison. Something worse, something meant to paralyze him for the creatures lurking in the dungeon, something meant to keep him still and aware. Let him watch as they feast on his prone form, able to do nothing. It could be a thousand evils and yet…Shame hollows him as he takes Ganon’s hand into his own and laps the water from salted skin, pink tongue darting between fingers to find every last drop until nothing is left.“I thought as much.” He lifts the flask again, the source of the water and pours more into the palm of his spit slicked hand.Deft hands pull the flask from Ganon before he can finish pouring, the desperate hero bringing the source of the water to his mouth to drink in great swallows, draining the bottle with desperate chugs. “A poor decision.” It’s the only warning given before Link finds himself bringing it all back up. He chokes, spluttering as water and acid splatter the dirt floor. He shakes, staring at the puddle seeping into the ground and wonders why? Why can’t he keep it down if when he needs it so desperately.“You haven’t consumed anything for three days.” Ganon explains without prompting, enjoying small display of suffering set before him, “The worst thing you can do is drink water so desperately.”He’s shaking. Exhaustion. Thirst. Hunger.“You’re going to die down here Link.” It’s the first time he’s heard Ganon use his name and it draws his full attention away from the tempting puddle to the monster kneeling before him. “Waste away until you turn into one of my pets. You’ll crawl the darkened corridors of my dungeon as a monster for the rest of your miserable days.”He shakes his head. He’d sooner choke on his own tongue then become one of those things. He refuses. If he must die, then it will be on his terms, not Ganon’s. Dungeon or no.“No?” It isn’t mocking, not as Link'd expected it to be. Demeaning and cynical. No, it’s something else, something closer to…intrigue? “I suppose there is one other option, one that lets you see the light of day.”He goes still, a sense of danger twisting his still knotted gut as a warm calloused hand returns to him, cups the soft skin of his cheek. “Be my concubine.”TBC
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Concubine?The smile on Ganondorf’s face grew and he ran a calloused thumb in gentle circles along the hero’s cheek. Whatever mortified horror he saw pass through Link’s features, he liked it. He liked it a lot. Enough so that Link could almost make out the faintest hint of swelling in the desert King’s pants. It was an outline that gave clearer perspective to what was being asked.Concubine.His throat was suddenly too tight, visions of hardened tanned flesh over his own flood his minds eye and he wanted to be sick.Link knows all too well the touch of those war bloodied hands, the feel of battle calloused skin against his own is not hard to image, not with the slide of his thumb against his cheek now. It’s all to easy to feel the ghosting strength of those hands pushing his knees apart and powerful thighs sliding between his own to…Hylia…He would be Ganon’s personal whore.“The choice is yours boy. Will you stay in my dungeon? Let your muscle waste and mind turn to madness?” he pushed a dirt stained strand of blond behind a pointed ear, ran his knuckle along the vulpine curve of his jaw tilted his chin up, made stormy eyes meet him own, “Or will you give yourself to me?”It wasn’t much of a choice.If he stayed, well, he was already halfway there. Link was so long without sleep he’d begun to feel the breath of creatures no where near him crawling on his skin, and he was hungry. Hungry enough that the skin of his chapped lips was beginning to taste…good. He shivered at the thought. It was becoming increasing obvious what those creatures were, what they had been.No, he couldn’t stay in the dungeon. Not and survive. If he wanted any chance of getting out of this alive, any chance of escaping Ganon and saving Hyrule from the corruption that was falling in his absence, then there was only one option available to him.He swallowed his pride and turned into the touch.Link watched amber eyes dilate at once, blowing wide at the sight of Hylia’s Champion’s surrender.“Good boy.” He purred, the praise carving a hole into Link’s chest like no blade ever could. He reminded himself again that this was his only means of escape. He had no way of getting out on his own and time was running out. He was useless to Hyrule if he was dead or worse.Zelda would understand, he promised himself.“But not enough.” He let the young hero pull back, watching with interest as the boy searched his sleepless mind for answers beyond his years, “You’re dying, that makes you desperate;” he explained, “willing to swallow your pride.” He creased his cheek, running his thumb along the soft curve before withdrawing his hand completely, “But I’ve known you longer then you’ve known daylight. You’re tenacious, unwilling to laydown and accept defeat when you’ve been bested.” Link watched as daft fingers loosened the braded cord of his trousers, the visible bulge increasing as layers were pushed away. “You have accepted my offer, now show your master how grateful you are for this kindness.”He couldn’t. Not here, not in front of those things. It had been a battle with his pride to submit as he had, he’d done it to survive, he’d done it for Hyrule. But there was a stark difference between nuzzling Ganon’s palm and riding him in the depths of this dungeon surrounded by once Hylian monsters.His heart sank, and then there was still the very real possibility that Ganon would leave him to die once he’d taken what he wants, once he’d…filled him.He shuddered, shifting his legs together and hardened his stare. If Ganon needed “proof of his submission” he would have to pick something else. Unless he managed to escape before nightfall there would be no avoiding sex with Ganondorf, but if he was going to be left to starve in the dungeon after his humiliation it wouldn’t be after being sodomized.A bark of laughter rang through the dungeon, amused, mocking. It startled the beasts, the meaty sound of shuffling flesh over stone sounding in the dark. Link’s petulance had amused him, “Oh no hero, when I am ready to take you, there will be no hiding yourself from me.” He griped Link’s chin and dragged him closer, forced his face to the separating laces criss-crossed over the notable bulge of his groin. “But when I take you, you will be clean. This will suffice.”He pulled back.“Have it your way.” He shoved him back, pushing Link to bounce against the concrete wall, his teeth rattled, and a sharp pain bloomed in the back of his skull as it collided with brick.He touched the growing egg on the back of his skull and grit his teeth against new pain. Nothing wet, so no blood at least. He looked back to his capture to watch the flourish of his cape as he turned, leaving.His one and only chance walking out the door.He lunged, throwing himself forward as far the chains still holding him would allow and grabbed for the heavy cape. He missed, fingers sliding against thick fabric as it passed through is fingertips.It was enough, the shadow of a tug on the tail of his cape bringing his steps to a pause at the door of the iron cell. “I’m not here to play, boy.” Amber eyes glinted in the firelight, face cast in shadow he was so familiar with, so comfortable consumed by, as he peered down at the wasted hero from over his shoulder. “Submit or die, I’ve no interest in games of token acts of resistance.”Rocks dug into his flesh where he lay sprawled over the packed dirt floor staring up in desperation at his enemy. He needed this. He would not survive. Stretching, his fingers hooked in the sturdy fabric of the Kings cape and he tugged again, lips drawn in a hard line of resolve.The gerudo returned, giving Link a moment to shuffle back to his knees before stepping to stop once more mere inches away. “If you desire to warm my bed, boy, earn it.”Earn his bed. Earn his bed. Link wasn’t being forced to do anything. He was being made to ask for it.Hylia, how he was going to kill him. When this was all over, when he once again held the comfortable weight of the Master Sword in his hand and the Hylian shield on his arm, Link was going to pay back this growing debt ten-fold.However, until then, Link swallowed his pride and brought shaking bloodied fingers to the front of Ganon’s pants. Once strong nimble fingers moved clumsy against the thankfully loosened leather ties, swollen and cold he barely recognized them as his own in the flickering fires light. He didn’t think he would have been able to pull the cord had Ganon not so graciously loosened them for him first. He’d hate to think of the lengths he would have to go to grip the thin cords if he hadn’t. With a few quick tugs Link pulled the braded cord free, pushing the fine cotton pants out of the way to reveal the generous bulge in his small clothes. With only a moments hesitation he gripped the sides of his trousers and small clothes and pulled them down dark hips.It was bigger than he’d expected.More then half hard the erection stood far enough to touch Link’s cheek upon reveal, a smear of pre smearing his skin where it touched.He swallowed, bracing himself as he would any fight with sword and shield, taking a breath of stale musty air to steady his resolve as fingers found their way into the tangled strands of his hair.“I will not wait all day for you to find your nerve.” A voice of smoke and shadow reminded. Pail storm eyes turned up to meet amber and he could almost count that as a lie; lust boiled like a storm within Ganondorf’s eyes, desire to lay Link bare and watch him beg. But he was not a patient man and Link would not test his luck twice.He wrapped his fingers around the sizely cock, he would be lying if he said he knew what he was doing. Apart from the few stolen moments he’d taken to himself on the road when he was sure there was no one around to catch him Link had no interactions with sex. His life on the road didn’t really allow for romance or pleasure.Opening his mouth Link brought the fat cockhead to his lips and touched the bead of pre with his tongue, there was an instant response above him, a sharp intake of breath as he tasted bitter salt. It wasn’t pleasant, but he wouldn’t gag on it. A light press urged him forward and Link took more of the heavy cock into his mouth. It filled him, stretching his lips wide as it slid across his tongue to touch the back of his throat. He choked, jerking to take a little less in and drew another sound from the man above him.He liked the way it felt, long fingers stretching through his hair and urging Link to do it again, bring his face a little closer, let the fat cock head press against the back of his throat and squirm. One hand braced on the larger man’s hips and the other wrapped firmly around the rest of the length he couldn’t fit into his mouth Link complied, stretching his mouth and opening his throat to try and fit more of the twitching cock into him, stroking the rest with inexperienced hands.It felt bigger in his mouth, making jaw ache around its girth.“Suck.”Link looked up through lashes and bangs to the man commanding him and froze. Amber eyes blown wide and lips parted in lust he watched Link swallow him down as though was nothing else in the world, presence of paramount replaced with a hunger Link has never known before.Heart pounding, he closed his eyes and tried to erase the look of burning lust from his mind. He could feel it now, the heat of his stair as he took in the image at his feet. Link on his knees, hand wrapped around the base of his cock slowly working it, mouth stretched wide around cock…it would be a sight to behold, a moment of victory he would burn into his memory for all time.Fingers splayed along the back of his skill, beckoning, wanting, fighting the urge to drive his length down Link’s willing throat.Suck. The word played through his mind and this time he could hear the salacious tone in his smoky voice, see the lewd hunger in his eyes, the need for more. More contact, more pressure. Link slid his tongue along the salty underside, teased the exposed length with clumsy fingers and hollowed his cheeks.The moan that rumbled sent a shiver up his spin that made cock twitch.He bobbed his head, alternating pressure of mouth and hand and tried to breath between the deep throating thrusts, taking more as he learned to open his throat, found a rhythm, sucked and swallowed and chocked.He didn’t force himself further, didn’t thrust when Link found the right pressure with his tongue along the head and thought to tease his balls, he held himself in complete control with only the rare sound of pleasure rumbling through his chest when Link did something he especially liked.The rush of cum over his tongue came without warning, his bitter end splashing the back of his throat as he sucked. He gaged, choking on the unexpected rush of fluid. The hand that had held him so gently suddenly gripped him tight. He looked up to his captor, meeting amber eyes once more, “swallow.”He stared at him; the weight of his softening cock still heavy in his mouth even as the grip on his loosened. The choice was his. Spit or swallow. Accept a place warming Ganon’s bed or…He listened again to the soft sounds of shuffling in the dark, thought again of what those creatures use to be, how hungry he had become.Closing his eyes he swallowed.TBC
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“We’ll work on that.” Ganon promised, wiping the pad of his thumb along Link’s lip, cleaning a smear of cum from his mouth. The smile stretched across the evil kings face is nothing less then victorious. He makes quick work of the leather ties that fasten his pants, putting himself away before pulling a large set of keys from his belt. "Congratulations hero. You've passed."
There must be at least a dozen keys of various shapes and sizes on that metal ring. Large iron ones that would be used for dungeon doors and heavy chests and small fine ones better suited for the delicate locks of bedrooms and confining manacles. He flips through them until he found the one he needs, knowing every key by shape and size, no mark needed to tell the brass apart. He slips it from the ring, dropping the key to the floor before Link's knees.He watches it bounces once against the packed dirt floor before him and recognizes it for what it is. His release. His reward. He swallows a still too dry throat now sore from the bruising pressure of what he'd swallowed and pushes down the thought. He takes the key in shaking fingers and presses it into the small lock of one of his remaining manacles and turns. The sounding lock isn’t nearly as freeing as he had imagined it to be and he quickly does the other. Link had half expected the key to be a fake, for the ruse of his release from this hell to be revealed and the small hope he had come crashing down to break him. It didn't come. Maybe it wouldn't it. The truth of his situation more pleasurable to the King then the thought of simple torture. The truth was worse.He opened the heavy metal of the cuffs and hissed at the pain of torn skin touching cool air. The flesh around his ankles red and sore with deep purple lines where the edges of the cuffs bit into him. He touched the tender skin there and winced at the blistering pain that greets him. He will not be able to run. Not anytime soon. Not without a potion, and he didn't see any of those coming in his near future. A loop of rope drops around his neck, startling the hero who had been lost in the thought of his wounds. "Nngh!" It tightens before he can get his fingers around its length and his sight shoots up to the man holding the other end. Ganon stares down at him, twisting the length several times around his fist. “Did you think I would let you walk the halls of my castle unbound hero?” He kneels before him and draws another length of rope, pulling Link’s tortured hands behind his back to fasten tightly before drawing one more piece of bondage from his person. A length of cloth. A blindfold. Grinding his teeth he reminds himself again the fate that awaits his rebellion and remains still as his sight is taken from, dipping his head to allow easier access to his captor.“You have a better understanding of your situation then I gave you credit for.” Ganon says far too close, far to sweet, the warmth of his breath brushing over link’s long ear, “I didn’t think you’d make this so easy.” He doesn’t take the bait, keeping still, expressionless. Hands stronger then his own slip beneath his arms and lifts him to his feet. He nearly falls at once and a steadying hand catches him before he crumples to the floor. "Should I carry you hero?" He asks, "Are you too weak to walk on your own? Do you need your master to carry you to bed?"
He shakes with the effort to stand on his own two feet, but finds the strength to make it happen, steadying himself and shaking his head. "No? Good. Then walk." He hears only a step before feeling the tug of the rope around his neck and follows on shaky legs. Blindly led by the greatest evil Hyrule has ever known Link's steps follow slow and unsure, weak with hunger and pain.
“Keep up.” He feels the rope leash pull, shrinking, tightening as Ganon continues in his normal steady gate. He would not wait for an unsure Link to find his footing and follow. He would have him trust him blindly, entirely, faithfully, to lead him to the agreed upon room. “I will not wait for a concubine.”
He walked faster, only slightly, but it seemed just enough to keep the lead from pulling taught. Or maybe he was receiving another 'reward' the evil King slowing his pace just enough to keep him coming, keep him trying. But the rope had already tightened once, a slip knot tied to make his noose. Ganon would see Link choke himself, punish himself for every act of restraint, for his distrusting his master.
Just thinking the word made him sick.
He wasn’t. He wouldn’t let his mind take him there. Ganon was his enemy and no matter how long it took, what depraved things he was made to do, he would find his way out. He would find his way back to Hyrule and see the blade of his sword buried deep in Ganon’s chest.
“We have reached the stairs.” His only warning before the lead began to pull him up and he searched with clumsy footing for the bottom step to follow. The noose tightened again, another tug as Link struggled to follow Ganon’s steady stride up the staircase. He felt the danger of falling with every step, the threat of his shaking footing giving way and the deadly fall down concrete stairs that would await him.
Or perhaps the quick snap of bone when Ganon caught him with his rope. It made him cringe. Hardly the fall in battle he had always imagined for himself.
It would only be worse if he survived it, instead die being dragged up the many stairs by Ganon and his rope.
Luckily his death did not befall him on those parallels steps. The weakened hero finding peace as he at last reached the top. But the trip is far from over.
His struggled continued, trying and failing to keep pace on shaky legs. He managed to first maze of halls, twists and turns he would never have remembered on a good day with lots of sleep and a full stomach. Like this? Half dead and blindfolded ready to pass out on a lead of biting rope? He was lost before they reached the second set of stairs and fell before they reached the third.
It hurt as much as he'd thought it might, the rope pulling taught before he hit the floor. Link struggled to get up, choking, blind on the floor. He arched toward the rope and waited for the strangling pull of fibbers around his neck.
It didn't come. But he felt the hands that gripped him by his arms and lifted him to be carried over a hard muscular shoulder. It didn't loosen the rope entirely, but gave it just enough to let him gasp, breath wheezing as he tried to suck in much needed air.
They turn down another hallway and he hears familiar grunting, the sounds of monsters he's slain more times then he can count. A Bobkin. He's sure of it. They stop and Link notes that Ganon has paused to listen to what the foul little creature has to say...he understands them. He supposed it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise given that as far as anyone knew Ganon gave life to the monsters roaming Hyrule with his black magic, but he hadn't actually thought that anyone could understand what they were saying. The grunts and snorts were all gibberish to him.
“Send them north toward the mountains" He commanded, smoke and poison from his lips, "and double their numbers. I don't want any survivors.” It made his stomach turn. Able to hear his plans, know where he had to go to save the kingdom they were planning to attack, and know that instead of burying his blade in his belly, he'd taken his cock between his lips.
The small pig demon responded with another grunt, some kind of affirmation, Link assumes, and grunts when he feels the powerful movement of muscles like rock beneath him again. Walking, leading. Despite his pride, he found he could help but be glad that the man had switched to carrying him. He would not have made it this far. Not on two feet. Not on four. He would have been dragging him dead after the third staircase. Possibly before it.
They walk further, several more long minutes passing bound over Ganon's shoulder, when he hears the sounds of voices reach his ears. They don't stop this time as they had for the Bobkin. More passing through the area then being reported to for a mission.
It takes him longer then he'd like to admit to recognize that the voices he's hearing must be the Gerudo women the desert is known for. Fierce warriors who cannot be beat in combat by normal combat alone.
Something is called out to the Gerudo King and to Link's continues surprise he answers, calling back to the woman in the same strange tongue. Foot steps quickly catch up and he hears her simply falling into stride with the man's whose shoulder he occupied as though he didn't have a half dead hylian draped over him.
Listening to their conversation, a rapid fire exchange of words he didn't think he would ever understand, Link wonders if the castle is divided into sections. A different area for the Gerudos to live from where the moblins and bobkins were free to wonder. Specified areas of the castle where the evil King's people might do business with him. He wondered if they even know of the dark minions working deep within the bowels of the castle.
Then again, with the numerous creatures roaming the dungeon how could they not be aware? Unless every woman convicted was immediately put to death or never allowed freedom once condemned, there was no way that these people wouldn't know.
More talk passes between the two, a pause that may have been the woman inquiring about the hostage Ganondorf had in toe, and an answer that seemed to put whatever inquiry might have been made to rest as the woman made a final remark and the extra foot steps fell away.
Link wasn't sure if there had been any hope of escape with her presence or not for him to feel mournful over. The emotion in her voice had hardly given anything away toward emotions of sympathy or concern. She had been ridged. Business. To the point.
Another flight of Hylia damned stairs, Ganon's broad shoulder digging into him with every jostle up those steps. He squirmed against the shoulder, a vein attempt to change his position and find something marginally more comfortable. It ended in Ganon changing the position of him on his shoulder and sliding his hand farther up his leg to rest reassuringly on his still bare ass.
Link blushed form toes to ear tips and tried not to move too much again.
They reach the top and calloused fingers take their time feeling his skin before lowering him to unsteady legs on the concrete step. "Think you can walk the rest of the way?” It was patronizing.
Link nodded. They were close, he assumed, or Ganon wouldn't have let him to his feet. This was preferable to being carried the entire way, given the smallest grain of pride instead of being carried all the way up the stairs and over the thrush like a prize.
“Then walk.” He grit his teeth and with every ounce of strength still in him forced his legs to move, first to one leg and then the other, he wobbled, but didn’t fall and a moment later felt the soft press of Ganon’s hand to the small of his back.
This walk was shorter then all the others and he understood why Ganon let him down. He heard the ring of keys rattling again and the sound of heavy brass turning. A big key. A master key.
They were there.
The heavy door to his new cage swung open and he's ushered inside, followed by the same heavy footsteps that had led him there.
“You’re new home.” He announced, breath hot against his ear, the barest hint of tongue to ghost, leave him guessing if he felt the slide of wet or not. “I believe you will find it preferable to your previous accommodations.”
Link doesn’t move. Standing perfectly still on his aching feet as waits for Ganon to remove his mask.
“I think you’ll find the view especially exciting." His fingers run along the line of cloth around his eyes, teasing, testing. "It reminds a man how vast and deadly the Gerudo desert can be." He feels the ties of his blindfold loosen, the thin cloth falling away.
OoOoO
TBC
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The blindfold fell away to give sight to the gentle covering of Ganon’s hand. Link blinked his eyes as they adjusted, looking at the rich tone of coffee skin, thin tendrils of light bleeding through fingers and around the mass of his palm. A dulled glow warning him of the brightness that would follow when that hand lifted away.There would be no escaping this, it was going to hurt no matter how Link went about returning to the light. But it would have been crippling if Ganon had allowed the blindfold to fall away and the hero to stare out into the open brightness with nothing. After so many hours trapped in the bowels of the castle, it could have been damaging, ruin his vision.Ganon was protecting him. Saving him from an unnecessary agony by shielding him from the sudden light. Gratitude swelled within Link and he fought to swallow it down. The blindfold had been a mercy, Link realized now, the Gerudo King taking great care not to destroy his new concubine before he's had the opportunity to enjoy him, indulge properly. It wouldn't do if Link lost one of his senses early, lost the ability to see what it was the Ganon was going to do to him. What he would have Link do to himself...whatever that might be.It wasn't that Link didn't know what sex was. He did. He understood the theory behind it. He'd sat around evening fires on more the one occasion listening to locals tell their tales of conquest. But there was a serious difference between hearing a Hylian tell him a story of how they bent a young fisherman over the side of his boat and taught them the difference between size and skill and participating in the act. Link understood the mechanics of it, of how to do it, in theory...but Link still hadn't done it with anyone yet, and of the fantasies he'd entertained none of them had entailed him as the receiving party. The old Hylians story comes back to him now, draws his thoughts into an image of himself bent over the side of a boat. Tunic bunched around his waist, his pants caught at the tops of his boots, his body would jostling into the thick old wood of the railing with every thrust from the Gerudo standing behind him, calloused hands holding spreading the cheeks of his ass to better take him. His stomach knotted, twisting as the perverse fantasy playing before his minds eye, the enthusiastic voice of the old man who'd told the story narrating his rape now. He still remembers that night by the fire, remembers the excitement he'd seen in his aged eyes when recalling the tale, the touch of lust at the memory. Would that happen with him? Would he be a tale of conquest told by the fires? Would he be a conquest shown?Link swallowed his trepidations, there was no use thinking of such things now. Ganon would do with him what he wanted until Link found his way to escape. Whatever happened, it would only be temporary. He just needed to keep telling himself that. Whatever horrors happened while trapped within the Gerudo's castle, whatever he made him do, it would only be temporary.Slowly, the great hand lifted away, gradually increasing the light that met his eyes and made them ache. The new brightness making him squint, his eyes watering as he worked to adjust to the new lighting of his room. The pain was nothing like he had anticipated, saved by the Kings benevolence.He would have preferred the pain.It would be so much easier for Link if the man would just torture him, play by the rules they had set for each other dozens of lifetimes ago. He wanted Ganon to lock him up, beat him, starve him. He wanted the conflict of enemies! Not this sick game he was playing with him, this twisted form of affection! It was wrong!...it was bringing forth unwelcome feelings, thoughts of gratitude Link doesn't know how to deal with ,how to smother. He needed this to hurt.Unfortunately for Link, it didn't look like that was going to happen. Ganon let him take his time to see, the Gerudo standing quiet behind him as he waited for the hero to find his barring, regain the lost sense.He hated every moment of it.At first the room was dark, just shapeless smears of light and shadow fading into each other. It was several long moments before his eyes began to adjust and those shapeless blobs began to take form, Link finally able to survay his new accommodations. The room, though blinding to him, was not bright at all. Illuminated only by a dull glow of daylight escaping through heavy panels of curtains covering the many small windows of his room. What had been a gloriously bright chamber lit by half a dozen window filtering fresh sunlight and open breeze had been considerably darkened for the comfort of its new resident. He imagined it would be several days before he'd be able to open those dark curtains without going blind. In the meantime the sparse light is more then enough for the hero to see by.Taking advantage of the Gerudo's granted patience, Link took his time examining his new cell.The room was furnished simply, but lavishly. There was a small bookshelf standing against the far wall, a small selection of books for Link's entertainment set on the upper shelf and an assortment of glasses and bottles on the bottom. Next to it, a pile of plush colourful cushions in various shapes and sizes was piled high. A comfortable place for him to read and take his meals at the low table beside them.Set against the opposing wall was a bed.Link's stomach dropped as he took in the largest furnishing in the room. With it's vast size it could easily, comfortably, accommodate four Hylians, though he knows that's not it's purpose. Adorn with more of the plush pillows he'd seen in the corner and draped in sheets of silk that fell like water, Link didn't want anything to do with that bed. There was a chest at the bottom, set at the foot with a thick soft looking fur blanket folded over the top. Maybe it meant to distract from the chest it lay upon, a large key hole telling Link whatever was hidden inside, though intended for his use, would not be used by him unattended.This was a bed meant for sex. Sex with Link. Link the concubine.'I asked for this,' Link reminded himself as the rope is loosened and lifted from his neck. 'I asked for this…'“What do you think?” His hands are freed, the lengths of coarse rope falling to his feet, large hands resting on his shoulders as he to takes in the room.That voice of smoke by his ear, asks again, “Do you not appreciate the gift I offer you?" His hands run down Link's shoulders, slide to the small curve of his waist, "Would you prefer something more like the cage I’ve taken you from? Something you can use to deny our agreement? Your obedience? Something to make you feel like a forced slave rather than my willing bedmate?”He swallows and nods, it would make him more comfortable. He would feel more like the victim than a willing participant if he were still bound behind bars.“Too bad.”He’s led deeper into the room, his room, by the gentle push of the hand on his back. Now nervous footsteps following the guidance, thankfully, away from the bed. Much to Link's relief he is instead taken to a large bath he had not noticed set in the opposite corner of the room across from the generous bed.Much like the bed in the room the bath was huge. Carved from heavy marble and decorated with detailed etchings of the Gerudo people it was much too large for Link alone. Though at least this would not be accommodating four Hylians.He looked into the steaming water, smelled the rich fragrance rising in its mist. This was the sort of bath he'd always imagined royalty to enjoy. Small vials of shampoos, oils and salts set onto it's edge, a bar of scented soap and cloth on another. Link was suddenly very aware of the blood and soil caked into his skin. Of course he needed to bathe. There was no way Ganon would take him to bed smelling of a dungeons rotting corpses and old piss. He wouldn't have Link until after he'd been cleaned. He was King after all, monster or not, he would not bed anyone covered in filth. It was beneath him. Link had to be made presentable first."Hold still." The command came with the steel edge of a blade kissing the soft skin of his throat. Link couldn't remember seeing the weapon, any weapon for that matter, during either of the Gerudos visits to his cell. If he were being honest, he hadn't thought the man was capable of using a sword or shield. For all the stories known, Link had only ever heard of the King's affinity for magic. There had been no great tales of sword battles or any other blade that he knew of. Maybe he'd been wrong...even if he hadn't, he would remember to be cautious now, and he would remember that somewhere in the folds of his cape Ganon liked to carry sharpened steel. It was something Link could steal, something he could use to his advantage. This would be where Ganon slipped. This would be how Link made his escape. He would find the Gerudo's weapon, whatever blade he had, and he would kill him. At the very least use it to brake out of the castle. Link didn't need the Master Sword to kill the evil King. He would do end him with a damn butter knife if given the opportunity.The cool kiss of metal revived sleeping instincts in the exhausted hero. The fog in his mind lifting, fatigue ebbing, and aches forgotten. This, he knew. This was what he had been wishing for since arriving in the Gerudo castle. Cruelty and violence, something he expected from Ganon. It made him ache for the Master Sword. His swollen fingers twitching for the familiar feel of her leather bound handle, the reassuring weight of tempered steel.For now, he'd settle for that knife.The cool tip of steel black as shadows slid the length of his throat, following the smooth line of his jugular to the soft curve and dip of his clavicle. It settled against the small bone, sat there for a moment with the point pressing ever so gently against the centre dip. It would be so easy for him to end everything here. One push, one plunge of the blade into flesh and he would have Link dying in his arms. No fight, no fear. A willing sheep to the slaughter.Link could almost hear his thoughts as the pint of the knife sat in the small curve of bone. Would he do it? Would he end their game here and now? Or would he play continue to play and give Link the opportunity to take it all away?In a movement like lightning the daggers point slid from the gentle curve of bone to the collar of his tunic, dipping beneath the forest green cloth and ran from sternum to grin, shredding his last symbol as Hylia's knight.The ruined heroes garb fell open, what had once been a hope bringing symbol of the hero reduced to tatters on his shoulders, revealing Link's weakened form to the cool dark room like an unfastened robe. Blue eyes widened with horror as he watched the last remaining mark of his title strip away. His last mark as the Hero, the forest green tunic reduced to rags.Two more quick movements tore the sleeves and he watched as ruined cotton fall to his feet, leaving him nude before the King."Much better." Smoke and leather purred, dropping the deadly knife to clatter over stone. Or it should have. No noise came. The expected sound of metal on tile unheard. It was something Link would think about later. Study more fully when rough calloused fingers weren't ghosting over newly exposed skin, sliding over the soft flesh of his stomach to the small mounds of his chest. Goosebumps rose in wake of the feather light touch, his flesh responding to the soft sensation of skin on skin. He couldn't stop the gasp that escaped him when those same rough fingers found the sensitive flesh of his nipples, a calloused thumb taking a moment to rub the hardened pink flesh. "Do you like that little Hylian?" He ran his thumb along the nub again, watched the involuntary arch of his back as he tried and failed to resist the shiver that ran through him.Link was skin starved. He knew it. With so little contact with others, so few moments with people unless rendering flesh or completing a mission, he knew he would react to most any caress against his normally hidden skin. He couldn't help it, couldn't stop the shiver that ran his spin, the breath that caught in his throat, as a hand moved from chest to hips, urging him to step into steaming water.Ganon was loving this. Link could feel the hardening mound of his cock against him, thankfully once again hidden behind the leather ties of his pants. The feel of Link's soft, virgin flesh beneath his hands, his uncontrolled response to every cress...the crack of his spirit as he watched his tunic fall. It was more than Ganon could have ask for."Now," he purred again, a rumble against Link's back that seemed to move through him, "Into the tub," the hand on his hip moved again, slide to follow the round of his ass, sliding a thumb along its clef. "my Hylian whore."It was one insult too many. Whore.That word.It struck a nerve. With so much lost, it was one step too far, and finally the situation became more then Link could bare. He couldn't fake his submission any longer. That would not be his new title. He would find death before he surrendered to something so base. Whore. Pride over took reason and in a moment of rebellion he bit the hand that held him. Teeth sank into tan flesh, pressing into skin until the taste of copper washed over his tongue.Pain sung through his jaw, ears ringing with impact as Link fell into the scalding water. He was stunned, dizzy and disoriented from the strike that took him. His face hit the bottom before he could recover, body soaked, sprawled over the marble side. He felt the smooth carved surface of the basin against his cheek and moved to push himself back to the surface. He didn't shift more than an inch. A hand was on him, massive and powerful and angry. It gripped his skull at the base, holding him beneath the surface, his face pressed hard against the tub.Link thrashed, pushed against the weight pressing into his back and clawed at the hand that held him. He might as well have been clawing at steel, he didn't move. Didn't flinch when nails caught the open would, didn't budge when Link drove his crippled thumb into it.Ganon was mad, and unlike Link, Ganon was in good health. It wasn't long before his lungs begin to burn, a need for air rising as he dug nails deeper into flesh, thrashed with every ounce of strength still left in him and reached to find his captors face, gouge the piercing amber eyes that watched him. He couldn't reach. A bigger man, Ganon help himself out of Link's frantic grasp and watched from the safety of arms length as he wasted his last remaining threads of strength. He thrashed harder, more desperate to push the man from his back and find air. Another hand came into the water, the massive grip covering Link's mouth and nose in an airlock that only drove Link harder. Made him more desperate for escape.Ganon wouldn't let him drown. He was suffocating him, waiting for the hero to cease his flailing and slip into unconsciousness. Black crawled from the edges of his vision, fire devouring his lungs, even as he tried to push his failing body one last time to the waters surface. Thrashing slowed to jerks, the jerks to nothingHis vision faded into black.OoOoOTBC
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
He could have slept forever.It felt good. The kind of good he hadn't been allowed to feel in a long time. An escape from pain and fear and the present.He drifted in an existence of heavenly warmth and sweet scented herbs, a pain leeching warmth wrapped around him to make all the aches of bone deep bruising slip away. It was a kind of exquisite he hadn't experienced before. A reprieve he needed so bad it made him desperately want to ignore the small voice in the back of his mind screaming danger and begging him to open his eyes.He needed to open his eyes.Open his eyes, find his sword, and run. Why did he always have to run? Why did he always have to hurt? Why couldn't he indulge himself in this little piece of comfort and quiet? Just this once? Just until the pain ebbed to an ache and he was able to think without compartmentalizing and suppressing half of what the was feeling?He wouldn't, couldn't, and never would.Link didn't know how long he lay there, resting, existing, drifting, but occasionally he was aware of the press and slide against his skin of something soft and warm, the manipulation of his joints and slide of a gentle touch that set his skin on fire and left a river of tingling in it's wake. Then he noticed the lulling rock beneath his back, the gentle rise and fall of a boat riding the waters swells on a calm day, something warm beneath the midday sun...Or the steady rhythm of breathing.A body beneath his. It wasn't supposed to be there. Link wasn't where he was suppose to be, where he should have been. Somewhere safe. Somewhere alone. The little voice that had been begging finally holding victory and he groaned, head lulling from one side to the other as he pushed his groggy mind back into the present and forced tired eyes open.His head hurt, not just ached, it pounded. A sharp throbbing pain echoing through his skull with every breath he drew into a still battered body. He should have stayed asleep. Whatever hell he had woken to surly could have waited until his head was done swimming.. With great effort Link searched the heavy fog of his mind for why."Bite me again," a voice of smoke and warning echoed through him like a shiver from where he lay against the Grudo King. His memory was suddenly refreshed, "and you'll spend the rest of your very long life taking your meals as paste." He tilted his head back, looking up at the man he leaned against. Soft storm eyes met warm amber, despite the words spoken his tone was more matter of fact than angry and his eyes reflected that. For all punishment in the promise spoken there was none of the rage that had been expected when the man was smothering him before. Link wondered if there had been any rage there at all, or had he simply been performing a calm act of discipline as one might a puppy while learning how to paper train."Nod if you understand."Link did and at once regretted the movement, the simple motion making his vision swim and a new blossom of pain flood his skull. He would need to find a better way of communicating until the feeling of blades swimming around in his head subsided. Luckily, the answer seemed to be enough to satisfy the larger man and the subject of Link's outburst was dropped. Honestly he had expected more to come from the rebellion, instead his attention returned to the task at hand. "I was beginning to think you were going to sleep through the entire of your cleaning." Link let his head slid back into a more comfortable position, once again resting against Ganon's chest like a warm, hard pillow. Ganon had already proven that Link was in no position to fight back. He was weak, tired and hurt. Furthermore, he couldn't be bothered. There was no escape, the Gerudo had made damn sure of driving that little fact home, and had no weapons or potions near by. The best he could hope for was biding his time until he'd gotten a meal and some sleep and maybe clubbing the man with a candle stick when the opportunity presented itself. Instead he watched as the other man manipulated his arm to scrub the filth from his skin with meticulous movements, seeing to his work with the scrutiny and detail of an artisan to his craft. It was unnerving to have so much of the evil King's attention focused on him and this strangely mundane task. He moved Link again, dragging the soft linen cloth over his deeply bruised shoulder, gently but firmly working away the thin layer of grime clinging to his skin. It didn't hurt. Not the way that he had expect it to, no more then if he was carefully tending his own wounds and cleaning after a battle. Perhaps even more careful then Link would have been. He rarely allowed such luxuries for himself, especially these days. Despite the gentle movements he groaned as the cloth was passed over an especially dark bruise, a trail of warm fragrant suds to dripping down discoloured skin back into the tub as Ganon takes a moment to further examine the mark, what for he couldn't guess. It wasn't as though the man had any thoughts of empathy for the suffering of others. The bath was to clean him. Clean him and fuck him. With his consciousness about him there was no longer a way for Link to miss the contact of so much skin against his own; surprisingly soft skin and expectedly hard muscle. It pressed against him from head to toe, his body encompassed by the larger man's as he supported Link's weakened form to prevent him from drowning. It was something Link wasn't use to, the sensation of skin touching his own. The unfamiliar sensation making him tingle at every point of contact, acutely aware of every inch of skin pressed against his own. He moved to lift himself away and break the overwhelming contact. It was too much, and surly he was clean enough. The man had to have better things to do then spend his time scrubbing Link clean.To his surprise the Gerudo didn't stop him, Link raising his head from where it rest against Ganon's chest, slowly lifting himself from the large muscular frame that had been supporting him to sit up, if a little slumped. The Gerudo more than let him, he helped.Fingers calloused by years of sword play and war splayed across his chest, Ganon supporting him again as Link leaned forward, offering something for the younger man to lean against in the changed position.Something else to thank him for. Link pushed the thought from his mind and closed his eyes against a sudden onslaught of vertigo as his position changed. He was in worse shape then he thought. There was no way he would be getting out of his tub without the help of the Gerudo, which meant he was staying put until the man was good and ready to let him out.Eyes clenched against the sudden tilting and lurching of the world around him Link took three deep slow breaths to regain his focus and slow the spinning before opening his eyes again and refocusing on the world. What he as looking for was another change of scenery. A new prison or perhaps even a room less comfortable then the one he'd so nearly been murdered in not so long before, he hoped for it. The gilded cage was unnerving, more luxurious then anything he'd had the opportunity to experience before, it was wrong. What he wanted, not that what he wanted really applied anymore, was to be moved into something more befitting a hero's unwilling incarceration and torment. He felt that he'd practically earned it after his little outburst. Something made of rough iron and stone rather then cool silks and carved marble.Of course he would never be so lucky. The room, he noted, had not been changed since his suffocation. The same mound of pillows in one corner and large bed in the other. Nothing had changed save for the body supporting him, thick muscular legs framing him on either side, and a large powerful hand against his chest, the only thing keeping the weakened Hylian upright. The soft fabric of the Gerudo's washcloth passed over more sensitive skin, the King taking advantage of Link's new position to focus his attention of his back. Link groaned as the meticulous movements worked deep knots from soar muscles, despite circumstances it felt heavenly. After the week he had endured, how couldn't it? Even being held in Ganon's arms Link found himself enjoying the feel of dungeon washing away. It wasn't sexual, thankfully, Link knew he didn't have the energy to deal with anymore of that today. He needed food, he needed water and he needed sleep. Real sleep. Not being smothered until the world blackened around him, not passing in and out of consciousness while chained to a wall, he needed a solid day of sleeping like the dead in a bed of straw or leaves. He'd take the floor at this point so long as he would know he was safe until morning. Link glanced to the plush bed in the corner. It looked as though it had been stuffed with cucco feathers or something equally soft. He didn't think he'd slept in anything so nice in the entire of his short life. How safe was he to let his guard down and sleep? How safe could he possibly be living in this room as Ganon's slave? "Lift your arm." He did as he was instructed and felt the more careful scrubbing around his ticklish zone. He still squirmed despite the efforts, small pulls and lithe noises as the cloth moved over his armpit. "Ticklish?" The Gerudo asked, curious, perhaps a little surprised. He couldn't tell. He'd never spent enough time with the man to learn how to read him. Link nodded, but nothing more was discussed on the matter. Link had always thought Ganon the type to enjoy the sound of his own voice, his extended visit was quickly proving otherwise.Arm lowered again he didn't fight as the King leaned him back against him again, manipulating him to better reach his other arm and the sensitive skin around his neck, his chest. Link had lost this battle. He had nothing else left in him to fight. He'd wasted it. He would need to wait for his energy to rebuild now, bide his time much as Ganon had while building his trap, until he was strong enough to actually do something about his situation. And he would get better, Ganon would personally see to it, he knew that now. Now that he had seen the room...the bed. Ganon would not be satisfied until Link had pleasured him, something Link could use to his advantage...so long as he didn't allow his pride to get the better of him. Not again. He couldn't afford to make a mistake like that twice. The cloth moved lower, the man once again shifting Link to better suit his cleaning, speeding his legs and lowering his cloth to begin the next section of the Hylian. Link acted without thinking. One hand flat, or as flat as he could make it with his damaged curling fingers, palm up he moved the other in a quick chop across his palm. 'Stop'."Stop?" His understanding caught Link more off guard then the material lowering over his genitals. "Do you really think you can wash yourself as you are?"Slowly, once again with aid, Link twisted in Ganon's arms, turning as much as he was allowed to better face the Grudo. 'You understand the language of hands?'"I'm a King, I'm fluent in 14 languages, several older than your Kingdom and among them, hands." Link was at a loss for words. The only people he had known to speak the language a few close friends, Zelda and one or two of the sages he had encountered during his journey. Beyond that a handful of Hylians knew the gesture for 'thank you' and that was it. Apart from those few it simply looks like expressive flailing to the people of Hyrule. "I don't believe in using translators to make my negotiations for me."'You make negotiations?' Link could have laughed at the very idea. 'Since when?'"Since before you were born." He pressed Link's legs open again and once more Link signalled to stop. "Your hands are crippled. You won't be doing yourself any favours attempting to clean yourself and I've no intention of raping you filthy in a tub."'But you will be raping me?'"I will enjoy my concubine when they are no longer reeking of decay. For now, you're useless to me."'I'll be useless to you for a while.'"Not as long as you think." He pushed Link's thighs open and this time he let him, leaning back against the hardened chest and watching as the cloth moved lower, scrubbing the inside of his thighs, around his dick and behind his balls. He had to turn his face away, cheeks burning with humiliation as his genitals were handled, cleaned for him by the man he had sworn to kill.He nearly yelped when he felt the cloth press between his cheeks, clumsy hands grabbing Ganon's arms to still the movement dipping to his entrance. Amber eyes met his own and he shook his head. "You need to be cleaned." He insisted flatly, the cloth covered remaining firmly pressed to his opening, "I already told you I've no interest in fucking you here." Cheeks still furious with heat Link shook his head again. "You can barely form signs, never mind hold a cloth. How do you plan to properly clean yourself? You're covered in filth boy. It is essential."Grinding his teeth he lowered his head and nodded, gripping harder at the sun kissed skin of the Gerudo as the cleaning resumed and he felt the gentle dip of a finger much larger then his own slid the sensitive length of skin between his cheeks. Humiliation couldn't even begin to explain mortification he felt as his enemy took the time to clean him. It was a relief when the finger and cloth were not forced inside, the smallest reprieve he praised Hylia for. He had been expecting it, the harsh sensation of fabric on finger forcing him open, slicked by soap and eased by blood. He didn't think that moment would never come, but it was a blessing that said moment wasn't now. Over almost as quickly as it had begun the cloth was tossed to join Link's ruined clothing on the floor and a press of a switch on the tubs side quickly drained the spoiled water from the bath. He watched it drain, noting the little switch at the side of the tub. If he had learned anything in his travels it was that the smallest details made the difference of life or death. Capture or escape. Water gone, he thought it was over until Ganon pressed the little switch again, more of that near scalding liquid filling the tub to engulf screaming limbs a second time. 'Why the second soak?' He asked, shifted in the surrounding heat.The Gerudo smiled. "To make you 'pretty'." He answered and Link could hear the grin echo in his voice. Reaching over the tub Link watched as he retrieved a small red vile from the folds of his clothes. "Have you ever wondered how the Gerudo stay so vibrant and beautiful while living in such harsh conditions?" Link recognized the liquid. He wanted to drink it, even reached for it as the King slipped the cork from the mouth of the vile. "We bath in this." He pushed Link's mangled hands away, pouring the small vile of red potion into the bath. It was thick, oozing from the vile like honey as it dripped into the water below, much thicker then the usual medical potion Link drank during combat. "This," Ganon continued to explain, "is not to be drank." He dipped the small vile into the water, rinsing the last of the thick sticky goo from the glass, "Unlike it's cousin, this healing oil is lethal if ingested." Link didn't know how much he believed that. It could be a ploy to keep him from gulping down the tube and kicking Ganon in the balls until he could taste them. Or he could be telling the truth to keep his new commodity alive and well. After all, Link hadn't seen him lie yet. "Relax." He leaned back, pulling Link with him to sink deeper into the water. Reclined to rest his head once more on Ganon's chest as the tainted water came up to circle his jaw, submerging him nearly completely.'Not a healing potion then?' "Not the kind you're accustomed." He pushed Link's hand beneath the tinting waters surface and gave the water a gentle swirl, it moved the thinning potion through the nearly burning liquid, helping it disperse around them as they soaked.At first there was nothing, Link unable to notice any difference between the addition of the potion from the previous bath, nothing but the same deep soothing kiss of heat he'd first woken up to. It was easing the incapacitating pain that resonated through him. It eased the deep aches of body and head as he lay against Ganon, oddly safe despite his exposure and proximity, he'd nearly drifted off to the slow rise and fall of Ganon's chest and the heady scent of the sweet potion as the pair lay there soaking in the tub.What kept him awake was the occasional, minute shift. Ganon occasionally stretching and curling his toes in the water as they soaked. It seemed like such a normal, Hylian habit for literally any other person in the land to have. Just not Ganon. It was strange to see the man as having any qualities that could make him relatable...normal. Anything but the monster Link knows him to be.It was that thought process that kept him awake, stopped him from lulling off and helped him stay aware enough to notice when he finally felt the change, the first wisp like kiss of effect. Opening tired eyes Link looked down into the tub. The potion swam and swirled through the water, slowing dispersing through to turn it a soft almost pink. Furrowing his brow he touched the tormented skin of his wrists. The chewed flesh was nearly smooth beneath his finger tips, the swelling around his thumb almost completely gone along with the once black and purple bruising.When had the pain resonating through him stopped? When had the bone deep ache seeped away to nothing? He made a fist and felt the easy slide of muscle and bone, the familiar grip tight and hard. It was healing him, slowly, soaking into his skin to seal wounds and mend bones, knit muscle and flesh back together again. If this was something practised regularly by the Gerudo women, he could understand the longevity of their beauty. But beauty was where it stopped. He had been healed, returned to his likeness from before the inn. But that was where the rejuvenation seemed to end. He was still weak. Still tired. Still hungry. A proper red potion would have revived him to something more whole. Eased his fatigue and filled his belly. He would have had energy, strength returned to his true state of power. This was meant to keep him weak and pretty. The water drained before Link could give more thought to it. Or maybe before it could provide him with healing he was more familiar. Perhaps it could replenish his energy and strength if given enough time.It was something he wasn't going to know."Now," he felt the slide of calloused fingers glide along his ribs, following the smooth dip of muscle and bone to the curve of his hip, "why don't we move someplace more comfortable?"OoOoOTBC
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Storm grey eyes narrowed as Link was lifted from the still warm marble of the tub.For all the effort it took the desert King to lift him, Link might as well have been a piece of fruit. Perhaps that's how he thought of him now. Something soft and sweet, meant to sink his teeth into and enjoy at his leisure. It made his stomach churn. 'Why bother asking?' He meant it to be flippant and hoped the attitude came across with his gestures now that movement had returned. An edge to his voice one might say. He would change his approach to this, he needed to find his hero switch and pull it. He needed to take control of the situation again, whatever way he could. 'My preference doesn't matter.' Even if it only meant holding himself together and mentally separating himself from the situation. This is just another challenge. One he was fighting in a whole new way, but would fight nonetheless. "Oh? Would you rather we remain in the tub?" He caught the tip of Link's ear between his lips, tasting the freshly washed skin, "I can fuck you just as freely there as the bed, though perhaps a little less comfortably for yourself." He breathed the words, and Link's mind was suddenly filled with the mental image of himself straddling the desert King, wrapped in a blanked of too hot water, being lifted and lowered onto his cock like a sleeve. He feels heat flush his face and ears and pretends not to notice. 'You know what I mean, you don't care what I would rather.' Though if he had to chose, the bed might be the better option. Link couldn't guarantee he wouldn't drive the man to drown him again."I've already warned you about attempting to fight our agreement." He laid Link out over cotton as smooth as silk, the slighter man sinking blissfully into the cloud-soft padding of the bed. It was by far the most luxurious thing Link had ever experienced. He hated that it had been received at the hands of the King. Then again, perhaps it only felt that way thanks to the many hours spent with skin scraping over stone. "You chose this, boy." A voice of molasses and smoke, drew his thoughts back to the present, "You desired it."Jewel coloured sheets dipped beneath the greater weight of the King, the larger man moving with cat like grace as he crawled up the plush mattress and over smaller man. Arms as thick as trees and hard steel effectively trapping Link within a new cage, one made of flesh and bone.It took everything in him not to move, not to back away and shuffle up the plush coverings until he found the headboard at his back. Every ounce of restraint within him summoned forth not to knee the man in the gut and run for the door. A door he still had no key to. A door he would never reach. Ganon would catch him before his feet slid onto the cool marble, and he would once again find himself trapped in the death of the dungeon. Not yet. He was healed, but Link was still far too weak to be making any such attempts. There would be no escape today. No escape this week. It's fine. He lied to himself. I will bide my time and when he least expects it, I will find my freedom. The best Link could do for now, was steel himself for what was soon to come. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner Ganon would leave and Link would finally be gifted the quiet to conjure a plan and regain his strength. 'You didn't leave me any other choice.' He spat back before his hands were captured, dragged up cool silken fabric to be pressed into plush mattress above him. "Ngh!" He narrowed his eyes, frustrated at once again having his voice stolen from him. "Death is a choice." He purred, the rumble moving through Link to wrap around his heart and make it flutter. "And you were too much of a coward to take it. No, you are mine. Mine to have and enjoy as I see fit." He brougth his wrists together, crossing them to hold in the iron grip of one hand, "Fight me." He breathed the dare. "Kick, scream, cry, beg." He lowered his body over Link's, pressing him deeper into the mattress, letting him feel the full weight of a body honed with hardened muscle against his slighter frame. "Break."Link scowled."Gooooood, very good." The desert King praised, forcing a knee between Link's legs, making his cock press into thick muscle, "I would be disappointed with anything less." He leaned closer, burying his nose into the crook of Link's neck and breathed, as though scenting his fear, as one large hand at last began the exploration of his body. Link's breath hitched, rough calluses formed from years of death and murder, trailing down the soft pale skin of Link's arm, over the now too prominent bones of his ribs to the soft curve of his side, and finally, his hip. Link can't help but squirm. The touch trailing down his form leaving his skin on fire in it's wake. Was he really that skin starved? Had his time alone left him this sensitive? "Mmm..." Ganon hummed as his fingers traced along the dip of ribs into waist and waist to hip. "I wonder how long you could possibly resist?"Or...was there something in the water? Something besides the healing ointment meant to revitalize his skin? Something that only worked against Hylians, like himself? Something that-His mind fizzled blank, the hand that had so delicately traced a trail down his torso finding it's way to his cock. "Ngh!" He turned away, biting his lip as those same calloused fingers ran his length, moving nearly feather light, from base to tip and back again. The barest touch, the smallest scrape of nails, he felt his cock jump, the flaccid flesh coming to life with the newfound attention.A laugh rumbled though him, smooth and low, "so eager." He hummed, capturing Link's lips in a bruising kiss when he turned to face him, to argue with silent words, only instead have another lewd moan swallowed, as calloused fingers wrapped around his cock and began to slowly pump. "MMMHH!" He keened, arching into his enemy as rough skin slid his quickly hardening length. The sound was swallowed, the dark King pushing his tongue between surprised lips to explore the cavern inside, all the while his ceaseless attention to Link's too-long ignored flesh brining the man to fullness far too quickly.He pulled against the hand that held him, arching as pressure began to pool deep in his gut and small bolts of pleasure were forced upon him. He was so close now, so unbelievably close. Link couldn't remember the last time he'd brought himself off, the last time he'd stolen a moment to himself in the safety of an inn or hidden behind some trees. Certainly long enough that he could feel the pressure within him building fast. His will and pride no use against the slide of course skin using his own pre to lube its movements. The brush of a calloused thumb over his head, pressing into the delicate tip as it grazed over the top, was what finally drove him over the edge, a jolt rocketing through him to make him curl as his pleasure was stolen. Or...it should have. Instead his breath hitched as he felt his edge peek, and a grip he wasn't expecting took him at the base.He panted for breath, mouth released from the bruising kiss that left his lips feeling swollen and warm, and he met amber eyes.The evil Kill grinned, licking his lips like a cat with a bowl of cream, as he slowly released the choking hold on his dick. "Not yet." He purred and only to begin stroking him toward completion. "We've only just begun." He rumbled over him, the sickening feeling of long pulls and tugs once again forcing Link's breath to quicken. "You're not keeping your end of the bargain." He kissed the side of Link's gasping mouth, "I've half a mind to take what I want to put you back in the dungeon where you belong." He kissed a trail down his jaw, teeth sharper than they look nipping the silken flesh of his throat to leave bruises in their wake. "Is that what you want, boy? Have you chosen to give up already?" Link gasped as more pre was stolen to slick his needy cock. He couldn't see it, but he was sure a steady stream of beads were now leaking from his tip as Ganon worked his length with practiced ease.'No!' he mouthed the words, squirming as he once more felt the building pressure, fought the urge to arch as he inched closer to his end. The choking grip stopped him again and this time he couldn't stop the whine. The needy plea escaping swollen lips before he could swallow it back down. Breathing harsh, he squeezed one leg around the powerful hips of the man above him and wondered when he'd allowed the simple movements of another man's fist to draw him into such an inviting position. "No?" He bit again, electing another whine from the concubine beneath him, "You're ready to behave?" Link bit his lip, schooling his breathing back to something calmer, forcing a composure he didn't feel and met amber eyes. He needed to stay out of the dungeon. He needed to swallow his pride. Link nodded. "Prove it."Releasing Link, he brought his now free hand to the former hero's lips. Steadying his breath, Link obediently opened his mouth and leaned forward, licking the thick fingers into his mouth to suck. Ganon hummed, an approval Link hadn't wanted to earn, and pressed the digits until he felt him choke, handing coming to rest on the larger mans shoulders and grip hardened muscle as he worked to keep his throat open and slick the digits presented. This is a test. Link reminded himself. Just another battle. He wasn't a whore. It was just another battle. No one would think less of him for the sacrifice he was making to find escape and keep the kingdom safe."Good." He breathed the praise into his ear, withdrawing the slick digits to let Link gasp for some much needed breath. "Now, relax." Link couldn't. "This will only hurt more if you strain." The warning didn't help. The King leaned back, sliding one lithe leg around his waist and lifting the other to rest over his shoulder, giving full access to the soon to be full opening which he sought. Link tried not to whine as he felt the slicked fingers to slide between his cheeks, biting his lip as he felt the glide and press of fingertip to his opening. He choked as forgotten fingers moved to slide the length of his cock once more, dragging a startled noise from his throat as two fingers began to press as the fist worked him back to fullness. "Hgh!" He gripped the sheets, toes curling as pressure built against his tight opening, each push following the rhythmic pump of the fist gripping him, choking him and edging him, until he felt the inevitable breach, fingers sliding two knuckles deep in a smooth breath stealing motion that had him arching off the bed and further into Ganon's lap. He heard him, a deep chuckle as he continued his work, exploring Link's insides with deep stretching thrusts of a hand that moved in stark contrast with the one wrapped firmly around his cock. He nearly sobbed as he felt the pressed once again, begin to build, nails threatening to ruin fabric as he bit his lip and fought to keep from finding his end, less Ganon steal it from him with another painful squeeze. "You're very good at this." The praise was unexpected, making something curl in his gut as he continued to curl his fingers and pound within him, "I think with a little work, you'll be a natural." Link opened his mouth to once again mouth his argument, only to find his voice stolen on an "O".He curled into the King to cling to him with every ounce of strength he had left remaining as something inside him was found and the lights of twilight danced beneath his vision. "Found it." Link didn't have time to question. He didn't' have the capacity, his body betraying him as a bolt of pleasure ripped through him unlike anything he'd ever known, leaving him to cling to the dark King like a lifeline.OoOoOTBC