Hiya! This is my first fic... I've written stories before, so I'm not shy when it comes to sharing my stories!
But still...I hope you all like it! :)

Warning: this story will contain yaoi in future chapters, just a warning..

But for now, it only has mild amounts of language :)

Enjoy! Review please :D It'll make me totally motivated to write more if you all like it...

"I seriously can't stand this shit any longer…"

I angrily kicked a large can, and sent it flying across the rocky gravel. Meanwhile, my darker counterpart was lazing back upon a large crate, tilting it back and rocking nonchalantly back and forth picking at his nails. I glared at his peaceful and carefree demeanor at a time like this. Did this really mean nothing to him? I had saved his sorry ass from that damned temple and all I receive is…

THIS?

Before I could think of doing anything more reckless than kicking a helpless rusted can, he sighed and let the box flop back to its original state. He flipped his hair back and huffed in annoyance, letting the sigh drag out for what seemed like ages. Finally, he let his blood-red eyes travel up the length of my body and stare me right in the face. I shivered from the feeling of being stared down. Perhaps throwing temper tantrums wasn't my best option…

"Dearly beloved Hero, do you really think kicking cans and crying over lost time is going to speed up this process? Wounds are wounds, and they need to be healed. We're also broke, and I honestly can say I don't feel like meandering around any longer. This ranch has everything we need." He sighed again and leaned back, letting his charcoal black hair fall over his eyes.

I huffed and leaned up against the edge of the barn. We had come to Lon-Lon Ranch for supplies, but alas, Malon was out, and it was impossible to get inside any of the buildings except the barn where the cows and horses stayed. So, we had been waiting most of the day to wait for her return from Kakariko Village, where I'm sure she had traveled to deliver goods for the people. But, impatient as I was, I found it incredibly annoying to sit here and spend an entire day out in the sun in a horse pasture rather than travelling further and finding out my next destination.

I closed my eyes and turned my head to the sky, letting my memories of the past few days sweep their way into my mind. I had been graced with the mission of saving Hyrule from all of total destruction from the Shadow Realm ruler, Ganondorf. He was definitely something…something purely evil, and something most people would never want to meet. After sneaking into the Sacred Realm behind me, he turned the beautiful land of Hyrule into a living hell-hole, complete with the living dead taking refuge in Castle Town to serve as sort of a "barrier" from any outsiders attempting to come to his demonized version of the Royal Family's castle.

Passing by these incredibly grotesque critters, I found my way to Kokiri Village, where I had quickly learned that Ganondorf's minions had taken over the tiny village that I used to call home. After the death of the Great Deku Tree, and of my disappearance, the Shadow Realm minions had attacked and demanded the village as theirs. The Kokiri had fled, taking refuge in the Lost Woods, as they had no means of protection. After coming upon the Forest Temple and defeating a shadow puppet of Ganondorf's, I travelled to Kakariko Village, finding out that the entirety of Death Mountain was covered thick with the stench of Shadow. I trudged up the mountain and found that the Goron's had also been attacked, and the news was devastating. There was absolutely no life left in the village, save a couple of Gorons who directed me into the volcano to their beloved Fire Temple, where Volvagia, the great dragon, had been revived by Ganondorf. After defeating the beast, I had finally happened upon Lake Hylia, discovering the lake to be almost completely dried up. I had taken to the water and meandered my way throughout the vast halls of the Water Temple until I happened upon one room:

The Room of Illusions.

And it truly was a room full of illusions, its misty haze continuing forever and ever into the horizon. I had heard rumors of this room circulating throughout the Zoras when I was a child, and it lived up to the hype. A lone tree stood in the center of the room, the haze clinging to it like moths to a lamp. The tree didn't show much life, with no greenery or even a bird or insect calling it home. Instead, it stood upon the only dry bit of land in the entire room, casting no shadows; it stood as a shining example of what this room contained. Nothingness, and plenty of it.

I immediately drew my sword, knowing full well that despite the room's empty appearance, there was definitely something hiding. The iron bars had immediately fallen down behind me as soon as I had walked into the room, allowing no path of escape. There was no mistaking it- I wasn't alone. I cautiously moved towards the tree, examining every bit of it. It seemed a little odd to be scrutinizing a tree, especially when it was dead, but I knew there could be anything unpredictable in this place. You always had to be on your guard, or you'd cease to exist, to put it lightly. As soon as I got close enough to the tree, I immediately spun around and directed my blade to it. I blinked a few times, surprised that there was nothing on the other side of the rotting tree. I slowly drew back, lowering my blade to the ground, letting the time stretch on forever. I gazed at the tree for the longest time, admiring the intricate swirling designs of the bark and getting lost in the curls and swerves. My mind swam just as those lines were, and I began to drift off into some sort of hazy day-dream. It ached to pull my head away, but I did, and began to walk aimlessly away from the tree, not expecting much. Nothing could really jump out at me- there wasn't anything else in the room to hide behind, and it'd be painfully obvious if anything tried to run at me. The immense puddle of water that the entire room was covered in would make it impossible to attack me from any direction, unless of course that said thing could fly.

Which was slim to none with how this god-forsaken prison was constructed.

Expecting very little, I sheathed my sword and continued onward, wondering if I would ever come in contact with any sort of exit. I scanned the horizon, blinking a few times to see if my eyes were just not adjusting to my surroundings or if I was going blind from all the mist. Soon enough, however, the door came into site, and I ran up to it. I grabbed the iron bars and squeezed them with all my might, cursing under my breath. The exit was blocked as well, and I couldn't understand why. There wasn't anything in this room, not even a switch. The tree was my only clue, but I had stared at that damned thing long enough. I craned my head around, willing there to be any sort of sign. This room was beginning to make me loopy. The mist was getting to my head, and so was the wetness of my boots. The water seeped into them, making my feet feel very gross. The feeling was considerably uncomfortable. Sighing, I turned around and began to make my way back to the tree. I planned on sitting on the dry bit of land and leaning against the tree to recuperate and get my thoughts back in order. But, as I neared the tree, I realized there was something strange about it. The physical appearance hadn't changed, but there was an odd feeling as I neared it.

Something, ominous…

I crept towards it more, my attention distracted by the odd feeling. I didn't even think to unsheathe my sword at all; all I wondered was what could have possibly created this feeling. It felt almost choking, like an immense chemical cloud had shrouded the tree. There was no change to the amount of mist; if anything, the amount of mist had gone down since I had passed it earlier. I began to tread lightly, trying to quiet the small splashes I made as I walked. My senses screamed at me all at once, of fear, distaste, anger, sadness, pain… these weird feelings that I had never imagined could be combined into one. The tree was no longer mesmerizing to stare at. It seemed to almost be repulsive, its aging and rotting branches creeping out to snag me and steal me away into a bottomless spit of suffering and desolation. These dark feelings began to scare me, and I began to panic. I had never panicked before, especially in a situation like this, so it surprised me greatly when I did. It surprised me even more when I didn't turn tail and flee from the imminent danger I surely faced the closer I came to the tree.

My pointed ears pricked a little, and it seemed almost as if I could hear a dark, menacing chuckle. That was also when I realized that the tree was casting a shadow, something I thought I hadn't noticed before. Either that, or there hadn't been a shadow there at all when I first came past. Either way, it caught me off guard and I stopped in my tracks. The silence that followed was almost sickening. I heard absolutely nothing, and soon my ears began to ring a little. I rubbed them a bit, trying to get some sort of feeling back into them. I was frozen between bewilderment and trepidation. Something was watching me- I could feel it. I could feel eyes burning into the small of my back, and I could feel the choking sensation getting stronger. The shadow was morphing, and I blinked.

It was gone.

The strange feelings stopped. The choking ceased, the burning sensation of being watched faded away. All that was left was me and my utter confusion. I finally began to unsheathe my sword, but something was stopping me. Something was holding me back, and I couldn't figure out what or why. I tried to move my arm, but it was held in place by some strange foreign feeling that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I struggled with the feeling for a minute. A bead of sweat fell down my face, and I realized just how hard I was working to just move my arm. I tried wiggling my fingers, and that worked. I tried rotating my wrist, and that worked as well. The only thing I couldn't do was move my elbow or lift my arm. I slowly began to raise my other arm, but about halfway through moving it to my sword, it was stopped in midair. I froze to the spot. It felt like someone was holding my arm, not something. And it was scaring the shit out of me.

I was beginning to seriously panic at this point. If I couldn't move either of my arms, then I was pretty much helpless in doing anything to defend myself. And despite there being nothing in the room save the creepy ass tree, I felt like I really, REALLY needed my sword. I changed my plan, and kicked straight out behind me. The feeling of restraint on my arms was lifted, and I lurched forward, immediately grabbing my sword and swinging it straight out in front of me as I twirled around and glared angrily at whatever was behind me. Again, there was nothing. I was beginning to get very peeved, and whoever or whatever had been holding me was going to get a serious ass whooping. That is, if I could figure out what was going on.

A maniacal laugh resonated throughout the hollow room, and I immediately changed my stance. I grabbed my shield and gritted my teeth in anger. Someone had been here the whole time- and they had been hiding from me, as impossible as that seemed. I flicked my eyes around quickly, trying to find where the laugh had come from, when suddenly someone whispered into my ear with an icy vengeance that made me chilled to the bone:

"Hello, Hero. And welcome to my home."

So, hoped you all enjoyed that!
Also, I wanna give some credit to linklover88, an incredibly nice and talented author...she basically gave me the inspiration to write this story! I've only known her for a little while but she feels like a totally awesome friend I've known for like, AGES.
So, much love to her! And read her story Without You! It's a yaoi fic, but hey, if you like that kinda stuff, READ IT. The woman knows what she's doing!

Until my next update, cya! ^~^