A Demon's Love

Chapter 9

Link took a long look at his new surroundings. It looked so much like his world, but different. The sky all around them was blanketed with puffy black clouds that resembled smoke. There was an island in the sky, about the size of Skyloft. Upon the sky island sat what looked like a palace of darkness. 'The palace from my dream...' Link thought, astonished to see the structure standing before him. Noticing there wasn't a cloud barrier, he took a look at the surface world below. In the place of Faron Woods sat a gloomy looking forest. From here he couldn't see any sign of plant life. Just a bunch of shriveled up, dead trees. Looking over to the left, he saw a great mountain blanketed by snow and ice. It looked as if a massive blizzard had rolled right into it.  Link looked to his right, where he had expected to see some sort of desert, but he only saw a heap of mist surrounding the entire area, and couldn't make out what sort of place it was. "Quite a sight, isn't it?" purred Ghirahim. Glancing up at the demon who was just above him, Link saw a glimmer of love and pride in his eyes. The hero knew he must be overjoyed to return home, even if it was just a few days he had been absent from this place. Ghirahim quickly pulled the sky child against his chest and disappeared in a flurry of diamonds, teleporting to the surface world.

They appeared in the center of a dreary forest clearing. The trees all around them were shriveled up, only a few bearing some leaves. The ground was dark and looked as if someone had burned it. The burn marks seemed to stretch on for miles in every direction. Link recognized the area as the forest he had seen just a little bit ago. Realizing he was still in the demon's arms, Link freed himself from Ghirahim, flushed and slightly embarrassed. Seeing his master's reaction, the demon lord smirked but said nothing, acting as if he hadn't noticed. "This used to be a beautiful forest of trees with auburn leaves. It was full of life, and home to many. But a storm of flames ignited the poor place, eradicating it." His face turned to a mask of grief as he remembered the torture the creatures who lived here had gone through. He may be a demon, but he wasn't as heartless as some thought. Keeping his back to Link, he began walking slowly forward. "I know of a cave in these woods, not far from where we currently stand. We can use it as a place to rest up for the time being." Link followed along silently, watching the shadows of the trees. Compared to Faron Woods, this place was quite empty. Link soon grew bored as they had been walking for several minutes. In the distance, he saw a small village of cottages. The cottages had a demonic appearance to match the surroundings. "Couldn't we just stay at a village instead of some cave?" Ghirahim peered over his shoulder at him. "As delightful the comforts of a village inn would be, I'm afraid we cannot. While a few inhabitants of this world remain loyal to me, most cower in fear of the king's wrath. Therefore, if I was seen by one of them, it would immediately be reported. A hunt for us would begin, and we don't want that now, do we?" After a few minutes more of walking, Ghirahim slowed to a stop. "Well, here we are. I'm afraid this is as "luxurious" as it gets for us at the moment." The entrance to the cave was small, just big enough for them to slip through, while the inside was bigger than you'd expect. Surprisingly, there were some dirty, tattered bed sheets folded over by the cave wall, as well as a small chest and several writing utensils. Link stared at the objects, then looked to Ghirahim. "I had come here often as a child with a few friends. We used to draw and slumber here time to time." 'So this was a hangout spot for Ghirahim.' Link tried imagining his sword spirit as a child, and wasn't all that surprised when he found he couldn't. Ghirahim used his magic to clean the sheets as he lay them out onto the cave floor. The two laid onto them, neither realizing how tired they had become after the hike they had endured, and fell into slumber within seconds.