Touch

Chapter Notes

If you hadn't noticed, this is now three parts, because I couldn't control myself lol. Uhhh minor warning for more mentions of abuse towards Link (from the other boys, again). Nothing graphic. Also that rough sex tag comes into effect now lol. Link gets it good lol. The thrilling conclusion in a week!

If I could interest you in a super sad Ganon/Link, end game Sidon/Link story, please give my fic "You're Beautiful" a try. There's a sequel already in the making, with lots of sad Link, because I like cute boys suffering lol.

Wanna make it official?

[2]

Link keeps low for a week after that. There's a blood moon coming up soon. He'd rather not be on Lady Seres' bad side when decision time comes—decision on who will be sacrificed to their angry god to make the blood moon go away, of course. Link rolls his eyes while stripping down in the pale moonlight. The idea that sacrificing one of them—all supposedly virgins, not true—to appease the lake god is asinine at best. Link tucks his clothes into the v of two tree branches and stomps angrily into the lake. The back of his head is tender from a few rocks thrown at him, and he's still seething from Lady Seres' taunt about him being worthless. Link throws his anguish into the lake, kicking and throwing his arms around to work it out. Eventually, he loses his footing and tips backwards into the water. He's deep enough to avoid smacking his head on the shore, but when he floats back to the surface, he almost wishes he had. The fight drains out of him with one more slap. Waves push him closer to the shore until a hand snags his ankle and drags him out. Link doesn't even struggle until Sidon ends up in front of him, cupping the tender spot on the back of his head.

Link hisses at his touch, and Sidon yanks his hand away.

"Did I scare you?"

Grimacing, Link sinks his feet into the water and searches for Sidon's chest with a hand. He finds Sidon, and his monstrous hands hold Link's shoulders to steady him. With enough space between them to sign, Link explains.

Hurt.

"On your head?" Sidon's claws brush over his hair, and Link sinks down to his chin to avoid him touching the spot again. When he's sure Sidon won't come after him, Link kicks himself back up. "Who hurt you?"

Link just shakes his head, because it doesn't matter. What would telling Sidon accomplish? Instead, Link kicks himself closer until he can wrap his arms around Sidon's neck. His thick arms accept Link without hesitation, and Link cements his hold on Sidon further by wrapping his legs around Sidon's waist. Sidon chuckles in his ear and pokes his legs lower.

"You're on my gills, Link."

He hums in Sidon's neck and hugs him lower—above the fins flapping at his hips, but below where he'd been. They glide through the lake, but Link doesn't feel they've gone far. He peeks an eye open and is happy to see they haven't gone far at all. The water might come up to his shoulders, and they're still center to the shore. Under the cover of night, they don't need to hide farther out or near the rocks. Link drops his legs and finds the sand, kicking some up with his toes. He still hangs around Sidon's neck, and Sidon drags a large hand up and down his back. The other wraps around him, covering the bruises he'd made a week ago. They're yellow and green around the edges already. Link wiggles and grows restless as the events and the hurt from the past few days weigh down on him. When Sidon's breath ghosts over his mouth, Link cranes up to kiss whatever he can reach. It's Sidon's chin, not what he'd wanted. Link kisses around and higher, wishing Sidon would cooperate and kiss him. At the first graze of their lips, Sidon does just that and bends in the water so that Link can have him.

Link's fingers dig into his back as they kiss. Link tilts his head to offer his mouth to Sidon, groaning and begging with his simple noises for Sidon to hurry up. This is better that going home, better than thinking about what he'll do once Lady Seres tells him to leave. Kissing Sidon and rubbing on him is distracting enough for Link to put that all aside. Sidon's hands dip down his back and paw at his ass. Link yelps into a deep kiss—Sidon's tongue darting between his lips over and over—and arches his hips to feel those claws prick at his skin. Sidon hauls him closer until they're touching all along their fronts. Moaning, Link fights for purchase in the sand to grind his erection against Sidon's smooth skin. He's thankful that he'd removed his clothes, rather than soak them when Sidon inevitably dragged him into the water. Sidon's hands on his ass squeeze and keep him flush with his torso, finally giving Link the friction he'd wanted. He yanks his mouth away, gasping into the night, and shoves his hands between them to beg Sidon for more.

Touch me.

Sidon growls against his mouth and kicks them through the water. Link clings to him, terrified that maybe he'd read this all wrong. His feet drag through the sand, and the water level on his body continues to drop as they head towards shore, and Link is sure he's about to be dumped on the sand. Once it dips below his chest, still covering his navel, Sidon stops and forces Link to stand with a brutal grip on his hips.

"Try not to fall over and drown," he says pleasantly before splashing into the water in front of Link.

Link doesn't have a second to wonder why before teeth sink into his inner thigh. Link's eyes fly open as he throws his head back. Sidon doesn't stop with just one bite. He pets Link's thighs part and follows the narrowing v with his mouth, drawing up blood on Link's skin before licking it away. Some must mix with the water surrounding them, but Sidon gets most of it. He chuckles under water, sending a plume of bubbles to burst on the surface. Worst of all, with his head between Link's thighs, Link feels his chuckle through his skin. Link stares into the black water and makes out the shape of Sidon's head and tail trailing off in front of him. It's too dark to see much else. Link sways on his weak ankles and sticks his hands out in front of him on instinct. The moment Link's hands come to rest gently on Sidon's crest, he bites Link harder than before. The shock of pain zips directly to his cock, which is straining and bobbing in the water. Sidon release a hip to smooth his palm along the underside of it, flicking his fingertips through the mess at the tip. It all mixes in with the lake, and Link can't imagine how overstimulating this must be for Sidon. He hums again between Link's thighs, mouth closer to his cock this time. Link tries not to place any weight in his hands so that he doesn't push on Sidon's head. But at the first lap of rough, warm tongue on his shaft, Link loses all control.

Sidon has to dig his claws into Link's side to keep him standing up. Below the water, his knees turn to jelly as Sidon laps at him and drags his foreskin down with his lips. Too young to have any sort of control, Link groans at the tight curl of heat that's about to explode behind his navel. Link scrambles at Sidon's crest, trying to tell him. But a curious finger is tracing and rubbing between his cheeks, pressing hard against his hole before popping into him, and Link's warning is worthless. His nails dig into soft flesh and he bucks forward against Sidon's mouth as he comes. Afterwards, he's certain the only way he didn't fall over was Sidon's claws in his side. Sidon hums against his erection as his come mixes with the water. Once Link is through the initial, powerful waves of his orgasm, Sidon slips his finger free and drags Link back to deeper water. The poor Hylian is boneless in his arms, shaking softly when Sidon gathers him up with his arms curling around Link's legs. Link has enough brain power left to wrap his arms around Sidon's neck as they drift around the lake.

"There should be a warm spring across the lake. Shall I take us there?"

Link nods and wonders when he'd shut his eyes. Oh, probably when there was no point in keeping them open, because his vision had blacked out. Link grunts as Sidon's powerful movements disturb the new cuts on his thighs. He must still bleed from them a little bit, because Sidon's chest rumbles along his front. Link drags his cheek on Sidon's shoulder and bites him back. Sidon doesn't even miss a flick of his fins, just chuckles and holds Link tighter as they fly through the water. The temperature changes, closer to tepid bath water, and Link eventually stops shivering. Sidon adjusts him in his arms and touches down on something solid beneath the surface. Link scratches the bottom of his foot on a rocky outcrop, so he assumes Sidon is sitting on it. Sidon yanks him in the water until Link straddles his lap, facing each other. Worming a hand between them, Sidon tilts Link's face up by his chin and presses a firm kiss to his lips. Link's heart stutters at how Sidon drags him around, moves his body where he wants it. When Sidon swoops in again, his tongue drags across the seam of Link's lips, and Link opens without trying to kiss Sidon. The graze of their lips only comes after he's moaning around that slippery, awful tongue. It's stuffed in his mouth again, thrusting against his and tracing the soft inside of his lips. Link scratches Sidon's chest, begging for air, and they part with a wet gasp.

"You are insatiable," Sidon murmurs against his lips. A hand wiggles between them, Sidon's long fingers petting at his cock. "Are you already hard again?"

Link slams his forehead against Sidon's shoulder and bites him again. He can't help it! He gets hard for no reason most of the time! But with Sidon pressed firmly against him, ravaging his mouth like Sidon owns him... How can he not be hard again? Still, an orgasm is an orgasm, and his cock is too sensitive for Sidon to be stroking him like that. Smooth palm slipping up and down his length, the tight circle of his thumb and index finger dragging the foreskin down. Link jumps at every brush of Sidon's thumb over the head, still buzzing from coming moments ago. Link just buries his teeth in Sidon's skin rather than smack his hand away. He's still blown away by how hard he'd come. Was it just because it was Sidon that had drug it out of him? He's never had the curiosity to stick a finger in his ass... Maybe that was it? Link jumps at the gentle caress to his hole, as if Sidon had read his mind. Link throws his legs wider open and buries a moan in Sidon's skin. Sidon's lips and teeth are at his ear in a second, roughing the skin up until it's bright red. Link releases his hold on Sidon's shoulder, intent on grumbling at him, but Sidon's mouth is on his before he can even start.

Mouth stuffed again, Link's moan can't even make it past his lips as Sidon presses harder and harder on his entrance. Link scrambles at his chest, scared that somehow Sidon has forgotten about his own claws. He'd overlooked it before, too caught up in his orgasm pile driving into him. But he's too busy trying to breathe through his nose while not choking on Sidon's tongue to actually give form to that concern. Hands shaking, Link drops one to scratch at Sidon's wrist, trying to get him to stop. Link squirms in Sidon's lap and tugs at his wrist when the pressure and rubbing doesn't stop. It's making his blood run hotter than ever before, but Link can't get the image of Sidon's claws out of his mind. They part with a hum from Sidon and a cough from Link, and he never gives up his frantic pawing. Sidon leans forward to nuzzle his red, drooping ear before nipping at it.

"Mmm, fine. But this will hurt a bit."

Sidon yanks him lower in his lap, and something thin and oily slips between his cheeks. Link yelps and tries to shift away, but Sidon's grip grinds his hipbones.

"Stay still, my little Link," Sidon grunts in his ear. "You had your fun. It's my turn, now."

Link buries his face in Sidon's chest as whatever prods at his hole slips through like he isn't clenching every muscle in his body. Sidon pets his back with a hand while keeping him anchored with the other. Link grinds his teeth as more curls inside him. It starts off smaller than Sidon's finger, which he's already felt, but gradually widens until it string. Link whimpers pitifully, petting at Sidon's skin to try and appease him. Sidon sighs above him and relents, just allowing whatever has pushed inside him to rest, allowing him to grow used to the stretch. The same oiliness drags along Link's inner thigh, and Link flinches in Sidon's lap again. Even a sneak peek into the black water between their bodies can't reveal what's thrusting inside him but is also somehow crawling closer to his cock? Sidon grumbles and yanks one of Link's hands down to his thigh, fingers brushing over the curious thing twitching on his skin.

"There's no need for all this fuss." Sidon wraps Link's hand around the squirming thing and they give it a squeeze together. "I'm different from you Hylians in most cases, why would my cocks be like yours?"

Link sputters at how plainly he says that. Cocks? As in more than one? Apparently so, because the one inside him thrusts forward, forcing Link to accept more girth. He rocks in Sidon's lap, hand spasming around its twin in his hand. The cock slips from his hand, made easy by its oily lubricant and the water, and resumes its wiggling trip towards Link's prick. Link bows his back to stay in Sidon's lap so that he can press his burning cheek to his chest. Sidon's hand that had grabbed his makes a watery path up his back and to the nape of his neck. Due to Link's injury, he doesn't grab at Link's hair like they both want him to. Instead, he digs his fingers into the sides of Link's throat and holds him still. It's not enough to hurt or choke him. The thought sends a jolt to his prick, though, and Link knows he's probably gushing into the water. Link shudders hard as more cock bullies into him, thrusting in and out to spear him open on the thickest part. The other finally wraps around his straining cock, jerking him off like a hand would. Link can't even flinch, because Sidon's grip on his neck keeps him still.

Every twist and jab into Link rips a whimper out of him. He expects Sidon's movements to roughen the longer they go on, but the water doesn't seem to impact the oily coating over his cocks. And it never wears off, just covers Link's ass and walls until he's a slippery mess. The dick wrapped around his doesn't seem to tire, either. It teases him just as much as Sidon's hand did—girth squeezing him while the thin tip plays with his foreskin. Link bucks into the tight grip of it and nearly cries when Sidon's cocks throb at the same time. The one inside him swells larger than before. Link sees white spots behind his eyelids as the pressure becomes too much on the sensitive spot Sidon had touched before. It's a rush to be this full, difficult to believe that his body can take it all. Sidon chuckles above him as Link shakes and babbles while riding him.

"Mmm, sweet Link, I said this will hurt..."

Sidon somehow feeds more length into him, and it does hurt then. Something rough and firm at the base of his cock grips Link's rim and stop all movement. When Link tries to shift away it's almost like claws ripping at him. He cowers and presses his sweaty forehead to Sidon's chest, frantic and going mad with the sensation. What in the realms is that? Like Sidon spearing him open without any preparing didn't hurt enough! Link claws at Sidon's chest, demanding an answer. All it takes is Sidon grinding into him, forcing those hot points of pain harder into his body, and Link sags bonelessly on him.

"Yes, that does hurt, I bet." Sidon pets his hair, mindful of the tender area at the back of his head. "They're barbs meant to help me stay inside a female while mating with her. They serve the same purpose here. So don't move while I come in you."

There's lake water, tears, and drool on Sidon's chest, but neither of them mind. Link rubs his burning cheek into it all and whines, desperate for Sidon to come like he said. At a gentle caress under his chin, Link pinches his eyes even tighter and follows Sidon's guiding hand. His mouth is open before Sidon even kisses him, and he moans long and loud when Sidon's tongue slips over his lips. Sidon rocks into him just to feel Link's moans cut to whimpers and even a sob. He takes that as Link begging for mercy and settles for kissing him breathless. Link paws at his chest while trying not to move. His moans pour out of him when Sidon angles his head back by his neck and takes a few moments just to lick into his open mouth. Link almost opens his eyes to put an image to the licking and growling. But as his eyes flutter, Sidon squeezes the back of his neck. And that hurts.

Sidon nips at his tender, lower lip before muttering against it, "Ah ah, no peeking."

The heat is rising in his head, and Link worries he'll combust at any second. Despite the pain and pleasure of Sidon's barbs digging into him, Link shifts until he can get his teeth into Sidon's shoulder again. He bites hard, out for blood like the boys who throw rocks and other horrible things at him. Sidon's hands fall to his hips, forcing Link's body down farther on his cock. It's rough and it hurts—sweet, syrupy pain that blends together with the constant pressure on his sweet spot. He hadn't even known it was there, but with thick cock bullying against it, he knows it's something special. Link bites harder and harder as Sidon rocks into him. His other dick, still busy stroking Link's, turns nasty in an attempt to wring an orgams out of him. The very tip of the thin prick runs circles around his head before digging cruelly into the slit where he gushes precome. Link jerks in Sidon's lap and screams around the flesh in his mouth. Another brutal stab has him twitching before everything behind his navel breaks and he comes.

Clenching tightly around Sidon's barbs is even less pleasant than when they slid into him. Link's scream through his orgasm is part pain, part pleasure. Sidon groans into his ear and finally makes them both sit still. He gives a whole body shiver under Link's worn out body and then swells inside him. Link pries his teeth out of Sidon's shoulder and licks sour blood off his lips. It's awful, and the cock inside him is impossibly large, somehow bigger than before. But Sidon's breath is hitching and his claws bite into Link's hips with little spasms forcing them deeper. Link just sags as dead weight against his chest, waiting for him to finish coming. He peels an eye open, blinks some tears away, and stares at the smooth surface of the lake. The water is still warm around them. But Link's heart hammering uncontrollably and forcing his overheated blood around his body almost makes the water chilly again. Cream-colored skin under him draws Link's eye, and he blinks at the change in color of Sidon's chest from ruby red to cream. Link slams his eye shut again when Sidon's hands lift him up. The barbs are softer now, but the drag of his cock out is almost too much. Link sobs and scratches at Sidon's shoulders until he's finally sitting again. The tender caress of his hair is his reward for tolerating such a brutal first time.

"Mmm," Sidon hums lowly in his ear, voice a jagged and weak thing around the edges. "My little Hylian, you amaze me."

Sidon slips a hand to the back of his neck again to hold him flush and still. Link's body twitches from the aftermath of his orgasm. He chokes on a breath and strains against Sidon's hold when the other hand dips beneath the water to feel at his entrance. But even after an orgasm, Sidon maintains his superior strength over Link and pins the Hylian to his chest without an effort. Link pants and whimpers as smooth fingertips explore how loose he is. They dip in him, three at a time, and drag come out of him. He's too tired to worry about Sidon's claws, now. Instead, Link shudders at the slick feel of come leaking out of him. He sends a prayer towards the heavens that Sidon doesn't treat him poorly now and decide to wipe his fingers on his face. It won't be the first time he's had someone else's come on his cheek, but Link's fragile heart might crumble into dust if Sidon does that. Link can't see whether or not Sidon's about to do that, but he turns his face away and shrinks down anyway.

Splashing next to him precedes Sidon's claws poking gently on his flushed cheek.

"Turn your head this way. Let me look at you."

Link does so, but his shoulders refuse to lower from around his ears. A finger curled under his chin lifts his head, and soft lips slide against his. Link hesitates to relax, sure that the punch line to this joke is about to come around. But Sidon cups his face with clean hands and presses simple kisses to his lips instead. Link can't smell anything that could be come on Sidon's fingers. He perks up a little and unhooks his short nails from Sidon's chest. He's sure Sidon's shoulder and chest are riddled with marks, just as much as Link's thighs are. The pain from those marks has slipped under the radar for now, since Link's back and ass are the hotspots of agony currently. But Link sniffles through the pain and turns his face into Sidon's caress when his thumbs pet away stray tears. He's probably been crying this whole time.

"Are you better now?" Sidon pecks a kiss on him. "Get it all out?"

Nodding in his hands, the rest of the tension in Link's shoulders finally slips out. He whines into Sidon's palm and slumps forward. The scent of his blood is under Link's nose, and his tongue darts out to lick the cuts he'd made. Sidon's chest rises and falls with a deep breath. He pets Link's head while the other hand cradles the small of his back. Link doesn't know how long Sidon will tolerate his company now that they're done. He's sure Sidon will just usher him back to shore with his weird water magic. But in the meantime, he'll cling to Sidon and soak up his presence and odd moments of tenderness. Life is cruel, and if he can steal away just a pinch of time where someone is kind to him, then he'll take it. Even if walking home tonight might be a problem.

-

Whispers reach Link's sensitive ears a few days later that the blood moon will be upon them tonight. Last night had been the first night of the full moon, not yet at its full power. It had looked rather orange when Link stayed up, debating on another late night visit to Sidon. He hates to admit it, but he's lonely while caressing the teeth marks in his thighs, covering the bruises on his hips. He misses Sidon, but barely knows him. He's stayed away to give his body time to heal. It would be different if he could lie around and not have anyone bother him. However, he flees the communal sleeping area before dawn for a reason. So he's had to go about his days as if every step isn't a challenge. He hadn't woken up the next morning with blood in his pants, but shyly reaching between his legs reveals that he's tender and swollen. Link doesn't do much sitting for those two days, since any pressure on his ass is agony. On the third day, the supposed day of the blood moon, he can tolerate sitting so long as there's something soft under him. He blushes every time a pain flares up. No one knows what's been troubling him—no one cares—but the pain reminds Link of what he'd done. He'd begged a strange creature to touch him, to quell the rage in him. If only Sidon could cure his hopelessness.

The leaders of the church are all reclusive and secretive today. Link plans to make himself extra scarce, but Lady Seres had Dampe lock all the doors and bar the windows before they'd even woken up. The banging of heavy, iron locks and chains was what had awoken Link in the first place. Every escape route he tries is blocked. He'd wanted to see Sidon today, too. The cuts on his thighs have healed nicely, but Link often finds himself thumbing the bruise on his hip, wishing it were Sidon's hand instead. Link finds a secluded spot in the rafters of The Sanctuary and hides himself up high. No one can manage the steep climb like he can. Even if they threw pebbles at him, they'd have to find him in the shadows, first. Link wedges himself between two thick beams and rests his eyes. It isn't safe to sleep up here, but there's nothing else to do. He never spends time in The Sanctuary except to sleep and bathe. The outdoors calls to him, and he can never resist it. Adventure is outside; the sun is outside. Sidon is outside.

The cramped position irritates the dull throb in his ass, but Link stomachs it with a blush. He wonder with a red tinge in his mind how difficult it would be to get Sidon to fuck him again, but maybe a little slower and softer. A calamity of voices and feet stomping disturbs his hazy thoughts. Some of his fellow orphans run around below, yelling and slapping at each other. He wants no part of that. He's curious whom the leaders of the church will pick to sacrifice, though. The sacrifice doesn't really have a pattern. Sometimes they choose a girl, sometimes a boy. They never send someone sickly. Link has lived here long enough to see the ceremony happen once a year. They all perform the ritual on a secluded shore of Lake Hylia, with the sacrifice tied to a wooden pole sunk into the lakebed. Two leaders of the church have to row out in a boat to tie the sacrifice up. They're usually knocked unconscious and cut on the head. A white dress is all they're clothed in, and their blood is allowed to flow down their body and mix with the lake water. Link hates to watch, but they're forced to as they recite a chanted prayer to the god. Once the blood moon is at its highest, they all turn their backs on the sacrifice and never see the god emerge. He comes and goes with barely a sound, and when they turn around, the body is always gone. Link's heart clenches in his chest every time at how quiet the lake is after that. There's no trace that the person had existed. Only they remain, surviving one blood moon at a time or escaping once they become adults. Link hopes this will be his last late night throwing a life away.

The kids below clear out eventually as Link ruminates on all this. He peers through a hole in the roof and realizes he's spent most of the day up here. The orange and pink of the sunset flows through the roof, painting Link's face in pastels. Sure that the coast is clear, he slips down and makes his way to the damp, stone kitchen for food. There's no one around when he slips in, and he's thankful that he'll have a moment alone to search for something substantial. He's used to sneaking in and stealing the first thing he finds. But with the luxury of solitude, Link wastes time digging through preserved meat for the largest pieces with the smallest amount of mold. He's busy picking through them and only notices the shadow of someone behind him far too late. He can't even turn around as something heavy bashes into the back of head, and he's out cold. Phantom voices and flashes of teeth and red pass through his vision like a messy painting. His back is scuffed and flames in pain. Someone probably dragged him around by his ankles. Not Sidon, Sidon wouldn't hurt him like this. Besides, he's shivering because of damp stone under him, not the lake...

More pain flares along his hairline, and Link is helpless to avoid the nasty licks from a knife. He can't keep his vision straight, and his stomach flips inside him. He's about to be sick, but his consciousness swims before anything happens. When he reconnects with the physical world, more voices murmur above him. He can't make them out. His head is a throbbing pain, worse than Sidon's claws in him, worse than Sidon fucking him. When Link lifts a hand to get up, someone grabs him by the neck and squeezes until his vision blackens around the edges. He's finally getting what he'd wanted. He's finally going to die. But the pressure lets up after he stills on the cold floor. Link doesn't struggle after that. Someone grabs him roughly by his hair and reopens the cut on his forehead. Link sputters and gags as his blood flows over his eye and drips into his mouth. He's dragged again and fades out of consciousness as it all becomes too much. Who knew dying could be as awful as this? His chest shakes with a sob, and he wishes Sidon had just drowned him when they first met. He calms when the sloshing of waves and the familiar, musty scent of Lake Hylia spears through his misery. Finally. They've chosen him to die, and it'll all be over soon.

He's yanked up under his arms and tied to the ceremonial pole, left to his fate. Chin touching his chest, Link forces his eyes open. Well, he can open one. They other is swollen and hurts when he tries. Had someone hit him? Blood in his eye would sting anyway, so he doesn't care. He blinks down at the deep red that stains the white dress they've shoved him into. It looks better on a girl, but his slim shoulders are probably appealing. It's a drunk thought. His vision swims, and the world warps around him. There's so much blood just from the cut on his head. He stares at the black water lapping at his feet and counts the drops of his blood that splash down. Maybe Sidon will taste it and watch him die. Poor Sidon... He's so lonely, and once Link dies, he'll have no one again. Link closes his tired eye and shrugs his shoulders, trying to redirect the tension of hanging by his arms. He hopes they don't pop out of their sockets. Why does dying have to hurt so much? At least he's stopped bleeding from his head. The blood cools on his face and makes any twitch in his cheek stiff and terrible. Chanting reaches his ears over the high-pitched buzz in them. His ears have been ringing ever since someone bashed him over the head. The moon is high above him, and he again forces an eye open to stare at its watery reflection. It's as red as Sidon's skin. Oh, poor Sidon...

Link can't find enough strength to lift his head, so he has no idea when the followers will turn their backs on him. Link's heart beat throbs behind his eyes and in the cut on his forehead. The ropes tying his hands to the pole dig into him and cut off circulation. He can't feel his hands, and the cold, black water of the lake rushes against his feet as the waves pick up. His toes are numb, too. A stiff breeze barrels over the lake and slams into him. Spray from the waves soaks the bottom of his dress, and the water climbs up his body as it spreads to dry material. The waves behind him build and build, flooding the shore and raising the water level up to his shins. The wind howls, drying out the tears in his one eye that can open. Link shuts it and fists his hands above him, desperate to return feeling to his fingertips. The chanting from the shore cuts off, or maybe the wind overtakes them. But the hairs on the back of Link's neck stand up in terror.

The lake god has emerged.

Link struggles in his bonds at that point. His shoulders wrench—a warning to stop unless he wants to dislocate his arms. Ankles straining against the ropes holding them, Link arches his body away from the pole as much as he can. The wet sound of gills flicking is in his ear. He stops struggling. There's a hiss next, and a giant hand grips his chin. It pulls his head up. Another pets his loose hair away from the cut. Rather than panic and let his heart burst, Link just pretends it's Sidon touching him. Sidon might be a bit rough with him, but Link holds firmly to the idea that Sidon wouldn't kill him. He shudders in the two hands holding his face, and he peels open the good eye to gaze upon his death. Black eyes stare at him with slivers of gold in them. They're so close that Link can see himself in them. He chokes on a breath, terrified, and slams his eye shut again. The hands leave his face after a gentle caress, and then a terrible roar rolls onto the shore. There's splashing and screaming, but Link can't stand to open his eyes. The shrieks of the followers echo across the water, and the silence afterwards is heavy. Feet splash in the waves, and the large hands cup his cheeks again. Link flinches in their hold and cowers as hot breath stinking of blood blows over his face. A tongue presses to the blood on his cheek and licks a patch clean. Lip drag on the pale spot, dotting kisses until the monster kisses him. Link doesn't fight it, sure that the end is near. When Link doesn't respond to the gentle slide of lips on his, a wounded sound vibrates against his mouth. Link startles then and leans into the kiss, again thinking of Sidon instead. The thought crosses his mind that the blood he tastes on the god's tongue must be Hylian, must be from the followers. He's dizzy all over again when the lips and tongue finally part from him. The monster lingers, face brushing his.

"Sleep," the god slurs. The deep voice rumbles from its chest, almost unintelligible. Lips press to his once more, and it adds roughly, "Mine."

The ropes holding him up give without warning, and the shock of the cold lake water swallowing him is enough to make him pass out. His groan of terror is consumed by Lake Hylia, and he's dragged under the black water, just like he'd wanted.