Chapter 2: Pleasant Reunions.

Link awoke, still tasting the meat he had so rudely stuffed in his mouth. His eyes were closed, and he was warm, on something that had to be a bed. He thought of Malon. Did she really recognize him? Most could not have mistaken him for anyone less than the Hero of Time. Which is probably why he was in this warm comfy... Bed? Link didn't care at the moment. He rubbed temples in thought, eyes still closed. He felt an outline on his face. Link opened his eyes, and was greeted with a dimly lit room. There were a few candles lit, and he was in a bed, as he had thought. The stars were helping him see. He felt the bed, and found it surprisingly lumpy. The bed could have been a cow. Link never knew what to expect in his life anymore. For all he knew he could be laying on a cow, staring at a mirror in the opposite side of the room. He hopped from bed. Someone had put his cloak on a chair which had previously been facing the bed he was laying in. He looked at the cloak fondly. He had thought he would never wear it. Even though the cloak had not served him well at all, he considered the cloak something he loved from his previous home. He was in Hyrule. He had made it.

Link approached the mirror, still wearing the tunic that had previously sheltered him, however poorly, from the cold. He was glad that whoever gave him a bed was so kind as to remove some of the extra equipment from his person, though. The Sword he had recieved from the Great Fairy herself was sitting innocently on the same chair his cloak was draped over. He was content at this moment. His many masks were still stored in his tunic, though, and they were getting uncomfortable, so he removed a couple and tossed them onto the bed. Among them, he dislodged the Fierce Deity Mask. It stared, emotionless, at the ceiling. Link stared a bit at the mask, as if staring at it would help him better understand what the thing was. Its seemingly emotionless glare was as mysterious as the thing that had given it to him. He broke his gaze from the mask and stared at the mirror. Even in the dim light, he could see the previous presence of a very heavy something. Link felt his face again. the outline was still there. How long had he been out? He examined the imprint more closely. The odd shape jolted Link's memory. The Stone Mask! In all the confusion and numbing cold he did not notice that the wagon hitting him had knocked the Stone Mask onto his face! Of course... It all fit... That's why they didn't help sooner... That's why they saw him when he jumped in... The mask must've fallen off! Link searched furiously for the mask; it was possibly one of the most useful masks in his possession. When he found nothing, he searched the room. There was nothing. The dresser yielded women's clothing, so Link completely dropped the idea of searching it again.

Link was in the middle of looking under the bed, being very uncomfortable in the small gap between the floor and the mattress, when he heard the door open. Link froze, but he had had enough of freezing, so he relaxed, and assumed it was Talon, or Malon. The latter being more likely, he tried to get out from under the bed clumsily, scratching himself on the edge of the bed. He got up, brushed himself off, and cleared his throat. He saw Malon, so much like Cremia, standing before him. He's seen Malon as an adult before as well, so he was not surprised at her as an adult. He had seen the older Cremia, too, and knew what Malon would look like as well. Not much difference, as it had always been.
"... Link...", she spoke, "We all had thought you had disappeared forever. You were sleeping restlessly..."
Link was expecting this. He thought he had left forever. He explained some of the situation to her; just not the disturbing similarites of the residents, he thought she might think of him as askew from his trip, as most of it was very frightening, even in description. "Hmm... Well, I guess that means you're back for a while, then. We know you're not used to this kind of cold; the seasons are all confused! This kind of cold isn't due for another month!" She looked away from his gaze, "It's been very... Wrong since you left. Everything. Oh, and sorry for hitting you with the milk wagon; it's a bumpy road out there... We just stopped to let the horses rest. You were sleeping for half an hour though. Are you sure you shouldn't rest?" Link declined, then forgave her, sorry for this unfortunate event, and asked where Talon was. She directed him to the other room, where Talon was sleeping soundly, though Link noticed bags under his eyes; he hadn't been sleeping soundly like this for a while. Link asked if Malon knew where the Stone Mask was, to which she replied, "We went straight back to the ranch after you passed out. I didn't see a mask."

Link got up, gathered his items, and travelling cloak, thanked Malon, and asked for a heavier cloak. He got a thick woolen cloak, and left. He then remembered he did not bring Epona. Though it would be better for her, Epona was still in Termina. Link felt very lonely without his beloved horse. He trudged on toward Hyrule Castle, thinking of the fate of the Stone Mask. He would go back and get it when he could see the ground properly. Or if Zelda was so kind to help him out, he could even get the Hylian guards to help him search for it, Link thought optimistically. He would just have to find out when he got there.

~Chapter End~

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