Ghirahim x Link 2.11 --Love and Outlaws.... --

Ghirahim x Link 2.11 "When Love Makes You an Outlaw"

“Can you understand me?”

Such simple words, and yet they brought Link such joy upon hearing them. He smiled brightly, ignoring the sudden pain when his dried lips split. “Yes!” he replied, his heart in his throat, “yes I can!”  

The two Zora’s faced one another and smiled at their success. The brown Zora cocked his head to the side. “Tell us, are you the one they call ‘Link’?”

The boy widened his eyes. “Yes.” Heart beating wildly in his chest, Link’s eyes drifted toward the pool of water that was swarming with numerous Zora’s, already hunting, searching. “How do you know who I am?”

The white Zora shook her head, causing her tail to swish from side to side. “He said you would be coming in a matter of time.” She gave another smile. “We almost didn’t think you were coming. It’s been three years since we were told about you.”

Link let out a sharp breath and bit his lip to keep it from wobbling. “Who…who told you about me?” When the pair didn’t answer right away, the warrior let out a frustrated growl and attempted to sit himself up. “Please tell me; I must know!”

The brown Zora pursed his lips, which seemed to be difficult, considering his teeth prevented him from shutting his mouth completely. He turned to the pretty Zora and spoke in a hushed tone, converting back to his own tongue so Link couldn’t understand him. The white Zora looked up at the ceiling, contemplating what was being said to her. Eventually she let out a scoff and shook her head, eyeing the boy once more. “We cannot relay anymore information to you. Not until you meet with the Head Zora.” She said in Hylian, “we have probably told you too much already.”

Link rolled his eyes. “You’ve told me nothing!” Thinking quickly, he bowed his head and fumbled with the reeds that clung to his wrists, acting miserable. “I probably won’t be able to speak to the Head Zora anyways. I don’t speak Zoran.”

The white Zora shook her head and giggled. “For being a hero, you are very dense. What makes you think that the Head Zora can’t speak Hylian as well?”

The boy’s face lit up. “About that…how is it that you all can speak both Zoran and Hylian? Did you enter this world knowing both?”

The ugly Zora shook his head. “No, of course not! When we were among the living, though we couldn’t access it, there was a piece of our souls that belonged to the afterlife, whether it was this one or another, such as the desert or fire land. When we passed on, and our souls left our bodies, that piece of us awakened at the time we passed from the real world to this one. It is what changed us into Zoras, and what ingrained the Zoran tongue into our minds.” He offered a smile to the boy. “That is why you are such an enigma. You didn’t die, and so that piece of you was not awakened, Link. Among the Zora’s, you are a very odd creature; many of us haven’t seen a human in centuries, and in truth, some of us cannot remember what they look like.”      

The warrior narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean, I didn’t die? I clearly remember drowning.” He shuddered at the memory. “It wasn’t particularly pleasant.”

The white Zora shrugged her shoulders. “You had magic on Earth, what makes you think it is any different down here?” Link looked at her silently, his face flushing at her condescending tone; for all of his research prior to coming here, it was clear that he had left his home with many questions left unanswered. The white Zora scoffed and waved a hand in the air. “You hadn’t died, but you managed to make it right up to the gate that crosses the souls over from the real world to this one. As soon as you reached the gate, you began to drown, and quickly lost consciousness. It was Turk here that saved you; he pulled you through the entranceway and performed a reversal spell to remove the water from your lungs and to heal your eardrums.” She cocked her head to the side and bit her lip. “Though, I’m thinking it would have been better to let you die first. You being here while still being a human makes things a bit more difficult for the Head Zora.”

At this statement, Turk, the brown Zora, bent his head in shame. “I didn’t know what else to do…he was suffering.”

Link looked at Turk and felt his heart reach out for the Zora. “Thank you, Turk.” He said, meaning it. Looking back at the white Zora, he frowned slightly, deciding that though she was obviously prettier than Turk, she was less pleasant. “So, how did you learn Hylian then?”

Turk pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing that Link was trying to sneak the answer out of them. “Just tell him, Prudescia.” He said quietly.

Prudescia, the pretty Zora, shook her head. “If you wish to get in trouble with the Head Zora, be my guest. You were just punished by him last nightfall, what’s one more beating?”

Turk looked at the sky child with a pained expression on his face. “The Head Zora wanted us to bring you to him the moment you arrived, Link. That is why we are conflicted as to telling you such information. I think he wanted to be the first to meet you, considering he knew you’d be arriving here as a human.”

Link fumbled with the reeds on his wrists and ankles once more, pleased to see that with all of his wiggling he had loosened them quite dramatically. He bit his lip and looked at the brown Zora. “Turk…the Zora that told you about me…was his name Ghirahim?”

For a moment, a look of confusion passed over the faces of Turk and Prudescia. “Ghirahim?” Prudescia repeated awkwardly, the unfamiliar name passing over her tongue. She looked at Turk and widened her eyes, seemingly asking the brown Zora a silent question.

Turk thought about Link’s question for a moment more before running his hand over his tail gently, his mind working. “Do you perhaps mean Giro-Hem?”

The boy shook his head. “No, I mean Ghirahim. He was a demon lord before coming through here, though I’m sure he’s lost that status now. He reigned over the Surface when he was among the living. He was quite formidable.” He sighed and looked into the water, hoping for a random chance to see his love swimming, though he now had no idea what he looked like. The sudden thought that Ghirahim might be an ‘ugly’ Zora crossed his mind briefly, but he swatted the thought away before it could fester; his love for the demon lord wasn’t that shallow.

Prudescia growled and crossed her arms, while Turk inhaled sharply and quickly ducked his eyes. He flicked a stone on the ground, acting discreet. “Yes, we are speaking of the same Zora. If you pronounce his name in our tongue, it sounds different from your Hylian tones. He is the one that spoke of you, told us you were coming soon. He is the one that taught us Hylian.”

At this confession, Link’s heart thundered in his chest. Rejecting the tears that sprung to his eyes, Link leaned forward so that he was inches from the brown Zora’s face. “Turk, where is he? Where can I find him?” He whispered, trying to keep his voice calm.

Prudescia reached forward and gripped Turk’s arm tightly. “Don’t tell him, Turk! We have been wasting time as it is. We need to bring Link to the Head Zora.”

Turk looked from the white Zora to Link, clearly conflicted. After remaining silent for several moments, he let out a sigh and retrieved the bone-carved knife that was strapped to his calf. “To risk your life coming here for the sake of finding Giro-Hem and being reunited with him, it will take a lot more than just me to stop you.” Much to the protests of the white Zora beside him, Turk leaned forward and swiped at the reeds that enveloped the boy’s wrists and ankles. “We shall give you a head start to him.”  The brown Zora nodded his head towards the pool. “He is down there…he is the white Zora at the bottom of the water bed, collecting shells and rocks.”

With nothing left to hold him immobile, the boy lurched to his feet without giving it a second thought. When he was standing, it was surprised at how well he was feeling, considering he had drowned only moments before. He let out a sharp breath and attempted to steady is chaotic nerves. ‘I’m so close Ghirahim…I can sense your presence here…can you sense mine?’

Looking into the water to pinpoint his target, Link had to bite his lip from gasping with immeasurable joy. The moment his eyes landed on the white Zora sitting alone in the sand, his hands occasionally reaching out to pick at a rock that he deemed valuable, Link knew. He knew it was Ghirahim. He didn’t need reassurance from the two Zora’s that stood with him. That was his Ghirahim down there.  

With shaking hands, Link covered his eyes for a moment, willing the tears to flee from their resting place on his eyelids. “Turk,” He spoke quietly. “Once again I thank you. You’ve saved my life twice now.” He finished rubbing his eyes and stared at the ugly Zora before him. “You’ll give me a head start?” He asked, a smile apparent in his voice.

Before Turk could reply, Prudescia snickered, drawing the boy’s attention to her. “He may, but I won’t.” And without giving him another moment’s notice, the white Zora dove into the water, swimming with determination, not looking back as she tore through the water to her unknown destination.

“Where is she going?” Link asked, his eyes quickly losing track of the Zora.

Turk sighed. “She is going to seek council with the Head Zora.” He pushed Link closer to the water’s edge. “She is a fast swimmer, so I suggest you hurry on your way.”

The boy nodded, eyed his demon lord from above the water once more, and dove in.

The water was surprisingly refreshing, and to Link’s relief, it was salt-free; any cut and scrape he had acquired on his journey to the Underworld went unnoticed in the cool liquid. But as soon as his body was submerged and he began to ferociously kick towards his love that rested at the bottom of the pool, memories of his drowning flooded his mind, making his throat squeeze tight in fear and sending him nearly into a fit of panic. He knew that couldn’t die; he was already technically dead, being in the afterlife. But he was not a Zora, for which this domain was created for. No, he was still very much human, and was not fit to live in such conditions.

And so, as the warrior continued his slow descent into the pool, about half-way down, he could feel the tell-tale signs that his body had nearly reached its swimming limit: burning lungs, aching limbs, painful eardrums. ‘I’m so close!’ Link encouraged himself as he continued onward, inching closer and closer to the bottom. ‘Ghirahim look at me! Look at me!’

The Zora’s that had noticed Link’s presence in the pool had ceased what they were doing to watch as he continued to struggle with his swim. A couple swam up to eye him more closely, while most kept their distance and whispered in their mother tongue about this odd foreigner in their home. He was pleased to see that no one tried to interfere with him; if someone attempted to strike up a conversation he’d lose his remaining stamina and surely drown again.

He was so close. Kicking his weakening legs, the boy stretched out a hand and gritted his teeth. ‘Ghirahim,’ he thought, praying that somehow his demon lord would hear him calling out telepathically, ‘Ghirahim!’

The lone Zora, sitting with his legs folded in the sand, paused from his rock collecting and sat up straight. From his viewpoint, he could see Ghirahim’s face soften with wonder as a mixture of feelings rapidly enveloped him. Pushing his hair over his pointed ear with one hand, the demon lord Zora placed his other hand over his heart and whispered into the water, “my Link….”

The sky child felt joy flood his system as he begged to his legs to continue with their struggle. ‘He can sense me being here! Oh, Ghirahim, look up! Look up!’

After a multitude of seconds passed, just like that, the white Zora slowly lifted his head, his eyes flitting from place to place, hunting, searching the water for something.

And then their eyes met.