The Relationship Between a Demon and a Goddess

Hylia sighed as she watched the young demon in front of her seeth with a mix of emotions. Some burning in anger and hatred, others taking on the form of bleakness, or even heartbreak. She cautiously took a few steps closer to him, gently extending her hand to rest on his shoulder.

“Ghirahim...” she spoke with a soft voice, “are you absolutely sure about doing this-” before she could finish the demon quickly stepped back, hardening his glare on the goddess in front of him.

“Of course I’m sure! You have the nerve to ask me why I choose to stop serving you, you should know exactly why!” His voice began to crack slightly as he finished his sentence; he was obviously struggling to prevent himself from breaking down in a fit of tears.

Hylia tried to speak, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. Every movement she made to attempt to give Ghirahim a comforting touch was rejected as the demon kept shaking his head, stepping further back from the goddess.

“...Ghirahim...” was all Hylia could manage. She was powerless and she knew it. Nothing she could do or say would be able to console the demon, all she could do was watch as one of her most loyal subjects turned against her.

“Y... you know exactly why...” He repeated, small tears forming in his eyes as he looked down, no longer wanting to look Hylia in the face. His normally neat white hair was now a mess as he continuously ran his gloved fingers through it, exposing the left side of his face that was normally covered by fringe.

“It’s about Fi, isn’t it?” Hylia sighed, looking down at the small demon breaking down. Ghirahim snapped his head up to look at her as his eyes hardened once more, a scowl forming on his white lips.

“...Is it about Fi?! Of course it is! Y-you took away the most important person t-to me... You made her an emotionless, expressionless drone that will listen to anything you tell her! And for what?”

“I was protecting her Ghirahim! You saw how Demise’s minions nearly brainwashed her, and you know she would never want to join the opposition!” The demon wiped his eyes from the tears now freely falling from his face. His breathing was becoming more jagged and heavy as the emotions he had been suppressing were finally let free.

“I-if you were so paranoid about us j-joining Demise... W-why didn’t you strip me of my free will?! Did you not care about me? That you just don’t care about where I go, or what I do, that anything I do will have no effect on you? That I’m just... j-just some useless pawn in the game you’re playing with your past lover?!”

“Oh Ghirahim...” Hylia walked closer to the demon as she placed both her hands on his shoulders.

“Of course I care about you-” “If you cared about me you would have never done that to Fi! I-If you cared about Fi you would have never done that to her!”

“I cared about her so deeply, that’s why I did it!”

“Do you really think she wanted that?! To never experience joy, or happiness, or sadness, or anything?!”

“I did it to her because she demanded me to!” Ghirahim’s eyes widened as Hylia spoke, all his movements seemed to stop as he processed the information hit him. He began to shake as more sobs racked his body. Hylia gently pulled him into a soft embrace, running her fingers through his hair. Ghirahim didn’t bother to reject this gesture, he had completely broken down.

“After nearly succumbing to the enemy forces... Fi couldn’t bear the thought of serving anyone but me... So she begged and pleaded for me to revert her to a form where she couldn’t make her own decisions... The only way she could be at peace was if I complied with her wishes... So I did.”

“S... she didn’t even tell me about it... She just... l-left me to be alone... She n-never even said goodbye...” Hylia looked at the sobbing demon in her arms and pulled him closer to her, wrapping her arm around his waist and cradling his head as he cried in the small of her neck. Ghirahim was still conflicted as if he was to return the gesture to her or not, simply letting his hands rest on Hylia’s arm and chest.

He was still sure on leaving Hylia’s forces to fight alongside Demise, even if Fi wanted Hylia to strip her of her emotions, the goddess should have never gone through with it. Hylia knew the emotional impact it would put him through, she knew it would completely isolate him and leave him with no other friends... she had to have known...

“My child... My dear, sweet child...” Hylia spoke with a very soft voice, almost a whisper, “I know how upset you must be... And I understand that you want to leave my army. I do not hold it against you,” She smoothed more of the demon’s hair and began to slowly rub her hand in circles at his side, “...however, I do want you to know one thing, one very important and special thing that I hope you will remember for as long as you hold breath in your body.”

The demon lord pulled away a bit to look at Hylia’s face. She had a soft and warm smile on her features, similar to the one she would give him when he was younger, when he was upset at Fi for teasing him about what he wore, or for how often he tripped while attempting to mimic her graceful dances. It was a smile he had very fond and happy memories of, where Hylia treated him like her son, even though he was simply one of her subjects.

Hylia tucked some strands of hair behind Ghirahim’s pointed ears to see his face more clearly. The small ebony diamond under his left eye was fully visible, an indication of his cracked and corrupted soul. Ghirahim knew of this, and insisted on having his hair cut in a way to hide the small imperfection.

Hylia always tried to tell the demon that there was nothing wrong with this mark, but he constantly felt shame and imperfect because of it, always resorting to hide behind an arrogant and pompous facade to hide his insecurities. Ghirahim felt Hylia staring at his diamond, his eyes darted to the side of the room as a faint blush grew on his face, causing Hylia to let out a soft chuckle.

“J-just tell me what’s so important and stop messing with my face!”

Hylia leaned forward and gave the demon a kiss under his left eye where the diamond was. For some reason, this caused even more tears to fall from Ghirahim’s eyes. Hylia pulled back and properly adjusted the demon’s hair to fall back how it normally did, looking into his eyes with a smile.

“I want you to know, that no matter what, no matter whose side you fight for, no matter if you choose a kind and gentle master, or an abrasive and cold one...” Hylia paused a bit to pull the demon closer, having a feeling this would be their last conversation. She wanted to make her last moments with the boy she devoted a large part of her existence to last. The goddess was never one for shedding tears, but at that moment she could have sworn a stray tear rolled down her cheek.

“...Even if you despise me, even if you cause my downfall in battle, even if you are the one to put the sword through my chest and cause my last breaths...That I will always love you. I will always support you. It doesn’t matter who you decide to be with, if you’re considering staying, or have already subjected yourself to Demise...” Hylia placed her hand under Ghirahim’s chin and tilted his head up to meet her gaze. The demon was shaking from all the conflicting emotions clouding his thoughts.

“Even after the Goddess of Time decides to bring everything in this land to a halt.

After we have both perished and our names are lost in history.

when this war simply becomes a fable told in story books.

I will always be your guardian.

I will always cherish your life as something sacred.

even if you get sealed away for centuries,

remember this, young one...

I will always be your Hylia.”