Ocarina of Time Retelling (T)

Wow this is really good, i was hesitent to read it at first but now i'm glad i did hope you continue wrighting ^.^

Well, loyal fans and readers, it has been quite some time hasn't it? Well, six months and a username change later, I finally bring you the long awaited Chapter Nine. Well, I won't keep you waiting with some boring speech that means nothing, so... here we go:


Chapter Nine

The trek across the field proved far more difficult than Link anticipated. What seemed at first a flat plain of grass was in reality a series of rolling hills, uneven terrain, and winding paths amongst various hazards. Everything ranging from dangerous sand traps to seemingly harmless gopher holes veiled by foliage proved threatening. And yet there was a beauty to all of it. A harsh land where all inhabitants vied for survival, pitted against the elements and each other. A vicious world, most unlike the wood Link had known all his life. Despite its terror, there also existed a supreme majesty.

At the moment, Link, Sahasrahla, and Sleipnir were busy scaling yet another slope; Sahasrahla leading Sleipnir, and Link wandering a bit behind, still attempting to absorb all that was around him now, and reminiscing on all that he had left behind. Navi was reciting some story to him that he had no concern for, and thus was ignoring her, however it seemed to have no discernable effect on her, as she continued to talk.

Finally reaching the summit of the hill, Sahasrahla decided that a small rest would be in order. It had been several hours since they began their trek, and even the strength of Sleipnir began waning after such a journey. Taking a seat next to Sahasrahla on top of the mound, Link turned to the old man, still ignoring Navi, and said, “So, if the journey across the field has been so treacherous, how is it that anyone travels across Hyrule?”

Finally taking the hint, Navi quieted down. Sahasrahla plucked a blade of grass from the ground, and placed the end of it in his mouth before answering, “Heh, I forget tha' yeh wouldn' know nothin' 'bout Hyrule. A jus' question, lad.”

Removing the blade of grass from his mouth and twirling it between his fingers, he continued, “Well, like I said to yeh before, not many a soul has explored this area of Hyrule. I was lookin' to be the first to find yer village, after all.”

Now thinking on the matter, Link did recall Sahasrahla mentioning this detail. “So, not many paths lead to this part of the field. In fact, none of them do,” Sahasrahla finished.

“None?!” Link exclaimed.

“Aye, lad. Not a one.”

“You mean to tell me that your people have never tried to make contact with us, despite knowing that we exist?”

“Well, not exactly. See, there only be a few of us what believe in these rumours of forest folk. Most of 'em reside in Lon Lon, as a matter o' fact. The believers, tha' is.”

“And the dissenters?” Link asked, mildly concerned.

“Well, to tell the truth, lad, they kind of be all o'er. Most folk don' believe yeh exist,” Sahasrahla said nervously, “To be honest, I'd doubt tha' anyone be believin' yeh.”

A small smile formed on the edges of Link's lips, something Sahasrahla had never seen before. Reaching into his waist pouch, Link slyly said, “Sahasrahla, would you know the legend of the Spiritual Stones?”

Sahasrahla rolled his eyes in response and said, “Well blimey, lad, who in this wide world don'?”

The smile on Link's face became a little more pronounced. “And how many actually own one of these Spiritual Stones?”

“Link, what are you doing?” Navi asked, sure that he wasn’t supposed to reveal this information to this swordsmen they still barely knew.

“No, Navi, it’s okay,” Link assured her.

Still uncertain of Link’s intentions, or his sudden placement of trust in this man, she let him continue. “Well,” Sahasrahla said with emphasis, almost ignoring Navi’s interjection, “Ther' only be three of 'em! Each one of them tings was entrusted to a single tribe. The Spiritual Stone of Water to the Zora. The Stone of Fire to the Gorons. And the third was 'posed to be given to the Children of the forest, but not a soul 'as ever seen tha' one. Some don' even believe it exists.”

Link was now having a hard time from breaking into a full-mouthed grin; Navi grimaced, though neither Link nor Sahasrahla took notice, for her size. Removing his hand from his pouch, Link produced an Emerald, laced with gold in the shape of a spiral. “I think I found your third one,” he said, clearly quite pleased with the show he had just put on.

Sahasrahla nearly fell over, he was so taken aback by the stone. A shocked expression accompanied this as he exclaimed, “I-I don' believe me eyes! Where did yeh come by tha'?!”

“The Guardian of the forest entrusted it to me upon my departure. He... explained that it would help prove I was telling the truth about my origin,” Link stated, garnering an even more horrified look from Navi for mentioning who had given it to him.

“I'd say it would, at tha'!” Sahasrahla said, still quite shocked by the recent turn of events.

“And something that I didn't really understand. He said that the Spiritual Stone of the Forest would help me complete my quest, somehow.”

“Well, couldn' really help yeh with tha', since I've no ide-er jus' wha' yer quest is. And yeh ain' been exactly forthcomin' 'bout that aspect of yer journey. I can' imagine tha' I'll get much from yeh on tha', in which case, I can' give yeh much either.”

Navi was about ready to give Link a stiff reminder that information of that sensitivity needed to remain secret when he just shrugged, replying, “That's okay. I'm sure I'll figure it out on my own eventually.”

Navi breathed a sigh of relief at Link’s keeping that knowledge to himself. “Alrigh', lad, ye be all smart about it,” Sahasrahla said, still unsure of just what to make of the situation, “But for now, we best be goin'. Not good to stay in any one place in this neck of the woods, if yeh know wha' I mean. Fiends and monsters be walking 'bout in broad daylight these days.”

Pulling himself to his feet, Sahasrahla nearly extended a hand to his companion, but quickly thought better of it. Best to let 'im figure out on 'is own tha' he needs help e'ry once in a while, he mused.

The three now continued their journey across the gargantuan field, once again winding their way between hazards, scaling and descending various hills, and all the while being wary to not upset anything that might perceive them as a threat. Unfortunately, the latter of their intentions was thwarted when Link stumbled into a particularly thick patch of grass. Stepping into an area where he could not see the ground, Link disturbed some slumbering creature, for no more than a few meters in front of him, a monstrous plant erupted from the ground.

It at first appeared to be nothing more than just an over-sized flower, but as it continued to sprout forth from the earth, it was clear that it was something much more foul. Now towering more than five meters in the air, the vegetative behemoth finally ceased growing. The body of the giant plant was as a bulbous sac: soft and fleshy, with roots lacing patterns on it. On its cap was a large flower. Red petals lined with cerulean veins made up the blossom. At its base was a thick root, extending below the earth. Lined around this were six smaller tendril-like roots, leading from the base of the sac to the ground. Now though, the six smaller roots retracted from the soil, and reached out to form six shafts extending straight out from the body of what Link could only assume was some kind of plant creature. “Link,” Navi started, a hint of fear in her voice, “I think now would be a good time to draw your sword and shield.”

But Link wasn’t paying attention to Navi. His gaze was fixed on the plant. The six roots of the plant now stiffened, and flattened themselves, taking the shape of blades. Link could only stand there and watch as all this occurred in front of him within a few seconds time. He heard Sahasrahla shouting something to him, but his mind was focused only on the event unfolding before his eyes, and he heard not what his companion was trying to tell him. “Consider this yer first test, lad!” Sahasrahla cried merrily, laughing afterwards, but Link didn't take notice.

His gaze was fixed upon the creature in front of him. Without warning, the blades at the base of the sac slowly began to turn. A freely rotating motor structure was a rarity of biology, but it would appear that this creature had beaten the odds of evolution, for the blades continued to rotate. Now picking up speed in their rotation, the creature slowly began to rise, the large central root released its grip on the ground, and the beast took off into the air, its six spinning roots no doubt responsible for its flight capabilities.

Angling its blossom toward Link, the creature launched itself at him, its blades spinning ferociously fast. Finally taking Navi’s advice, Link reached behind his shoulder to grab his shield and his sword. Now attaching the shield in his right hand, and grasping the blade in his left, he stood ready to defend himself. Confident that he had the physical prowess and proper training to take down this behemoth, he readied himself for the attack. Dodging swiftly to the side to avoid the propeller of the plant, Link sliced his sword along the hide of the creature's body.

Despite how fleshy and soft the sac had at first seemed, it gave no heed to Link's blade. At most, he managed to cut a few of the roots that wound their way around it, but nothing more. Turning back, Link saw that the fiend was mildly thrown off balance, but otherwise unscathed. “Link! I think it’s weak spot is on its underbelly,” Navi cried out in an attempt to help, but Link could barely hear her over the sound of his own heart.

Turning itself around, the beast charged Link once again, faster this time. This sudden attack was unanticipated, and it caught the young boy off guard. Unable to dash out of harm's way this time, Link raised his shield in a desperate attempt to fend the beast off.

The sound of metal being struck rang out as one of the blades collided with his shield. The force of the impact threw him back several feet, flinging him into a nearby bramble. The bush tore at his skin and clothes, making them even more tattered than they were before. Ignoring the pain, Link pulled himself free from the shrub and wiped the blood from his brow, readying himself for battle once again. However, the blow backwards had severely disoriented him, and he swooned. Losing his balance, he dropped to one knee, looking up only just in time to see the plant creature turning around to make yet another pass at him.

Link tried to pull himself up to his feet, but it was to no avail. He could do naught but remain stationary, and await his doom. He bowed his head and accepted his fate.

Pfft.

Pfft.

Pfft.

Link looked up to see three arrows stuck into the central root that protruded from beneath the creature. He turned his head to find Sahasrahla standing a few meters away, holding a bow up as though he had just fired it. The fiend knew it was beat, and thus retreated back to its subterranean abode, conceding defeat to its foe. “Link! Link! Hey! Are you okay?!” Navi screeched in her high pitched voice.

“Yes, Navi,” Link snarled, clearly annoyed by her, “I’m fine.”

Seeing that the battle had ended, Sahasrahla placed the bow back into a pouch on Sleipnir. “Sorry to hold off for so long, lad, but me thinks tha' yeh needed to experience a real battle,” Sahasrahla said calmly, folding his arms in front of his chest.

“You mean to tell me that you risked my well-being for the sake of some experience?” Link asked surprisingly placid, raising an eyebrow.

A small laugh escaped Sahasrahla's lips before saying, “Nah, I wouldn' do somethin' like tha'. I had me bow trained on 'im the whole time. Ye were ne'er in any real danger, lad. I jus' wanted to wait and see if yeh could do it yerself. Me hopes tha' ye've learned somethin' from this.”

“How could you do something so reckless?!” Navi flew up to Sahasrahla’s face and asked, trying her best to yell at him; he had difficulty taking her seriously, for her size.

He suddenly had the urge to flick her away, but knew that it wouldn’t be a good idea. Got to stop thinking like that, he thought to himself, chuckling a bit as he did so.

“It’s okay, Navi,” Link said, merely shrugging, “What was that thing, anyways?”

Navi gave a somewhat stern look in Link’s direction for being so apathetic, but decided to leave the issue alone and fly back to Link’s side. “It's called a peahat,” Sahasrahla said, answering Link’s question, “Bloody stupid name fer it, if yeh ask me, but it's wha' them scientists in the capital city thought they oughta be named.”

“Are they very dangerous?” Link asked, curious.

“Hah! Hardly. I've fought dozens of them tings in me days, and I haven' had a problem with a single one of 'em,” Sahasrahla said nonchalantly, before seeing the obvious look of annoyance on Link's face from this comment and added, “Barrin' 'fore I knew wha' I was doin' with a blade, of course.”

A bit of a nervous chuckle accompanied this. “Well, lad, me thinks we've seen enough excitement fer one day. Le's be off, shall we?”

Link nodded, sheathing his sword and replacing his shield on his back as he did so. The next few hours were rather dull, and passed without incident. Rising the crest of a rather large hill, a large gated city finally came into view some ways off in the distance. “Tha' ther' be our destination,” Sahasrahla told Link, “Lon Lon. We be gettin' close.”

It was near evening before the pair at length found themselves at the gates of the city. Both were quite ready for some rest, and were glad at the thought of finally receiving some. Before approaching the gate, Sahasrahla stopped the trio for a moment. “Uh, Navi,” he started, “none of these folk have e’er seen a fairy before. I don’ know how they’ll react.”

“Wait, didn’t you say that you knew people here who already believed in our existence?” Navi retorted, unsure where he was going with this.

“Well, yeah, but… tha’ doesn’ mean tha’ most people do. They won’ have any problem with yeh,” Sahasrahla said, “probably.”

“Probably?!” Navi cried.

Link was starting to chuckle the more the conversation went on. “Well, yeah, probably. Anyways, is there any way yeh can keep yerself hidden or anything?”

Link was starting to turn from chuckles to laughter as Navi looked completely shocked at what she was hearing. Looking around a bit, Navi finally turned around at Link with a sly grin on her face. Still chuckling, “What are you looking at?” he asked.

“Link,” she said, pausing long before continuing, “lift up your hat.”

It was now Sahasrahla’s turn to laugh, as he immediately realized what was happening. Link was a little slower, but still suspicious, asking, “What for?”

A slight chuckle escaped her mouth before, “So I can hide in it, silly!”

“What?!” Link exclaimed, clearly uncomfortable with the thought of it, “Why there?”

Navi adapted a slightly concupiscent tone, raised an eyebrow and asked, “Would you rather I hide somewhere else?”

Link’s face turned a deep shade of red as Sahasrahla began laughing long and deep. Without saying a word, Link removed his cap from his crown, revealing his dirty blonde hair, and lowered his head. “Thank you,” Navi said, giggling profusely, and flew up to his head to rest.

Link replaced his hat and looked at Sahasrahla, his face still a deep red. “Can we continue now please,” he said, somewhat antagonistically.

Sahasrahla was still laughing so hard he couldn’t speak, so he merely nodded and they made their way to the main gate. The gatekeeper made some vague, generic comment welcoming them to Lon Lon as they passed the threshold of the city's borders. Link and Sahasrahla both regained their composures as they came to a large open space.

Before Link now lay a sight that he had never known: hundreds of people walked the streets, crowding out the stone roads, something else entirely unfamiliar to him. Shops lined every street, selling everything from weapons to healing medicines. All manner of folk walked about; the young and the old; the big and the small; the strong and the weak. Many not even human. Link caught glimpses of large, round, orange creatures that seemed to have some kind of rocks protruding from their backs. Blue and white athletic forms covered in fins and scales also walked about. And every one of them looked as though they had some business to attend to. Link couldn't possibly conceive what all these people had to do all at once, but it was clear that they did. The whole city was a bustling place of trade and business. Link couldn't gather much more than that.

“So, lad,” Sahasrahla said, grinning widely, “wha' do yeh think?”

Link looked at his companion, dumbfounded. Words tried to form on his tongue, but none of them came to fruition. Sahasrahla simply laughed and said, “Aye, tha's to be expected, lad. Come, we best get ol' Sleipnir here into the stables. Wouldn' want 'im to be catchin' a cold from stayin' out in the night, now would we?”

After leaving Sleipnir in the town's stables, Sahasrahla mentioned a tavern he knew of with an inn, so as they could rest for the night, and hopefully find someone willing to see them to Hyrule Castle, as the roads could be dangerous if traveled alone. Strolling through various market places and busy squares where both the shops and the people appeared to be preparing to retire for the night, the pair came to the base of a large hill. “the town be split inta two levels,” Sahasrahla explained, seeing Link's confusion at the acclivity, “All the market places be in this, the lower of two levels, and up here be a more, well... rural area of town.”

Link caught the hesitance towards the end of Sahasrahla's explanation, and offered him a sideways glance, along with a raised eyebrow, for it: “Rural?”

“Well, lad, this town started as nothin' but a wee group of farmers, tryin' to make their way in the world. Figured the middle o' nowhere, where there be not a soul to disturb 'em, oughtta be a good place to put a ranch. And it seems they was right, fer a city soon sprung up aroun' it. The busy market yeh jus' saw is wha' tha' turned inta. The ranches remain to this day, up this here hill. Them wha' folk stayed behind to tend 'em kind of formed their own li'l community. Tha's the place we be headin' fer,” Sahasrahla finished, taking a deep breath.

Link allowed a small smile, and nodded at Sahasrahla, saying, “Well, if the history lesson is over, may we proceed?”

“Aye, lad, we may, but don' yeh be gettin' smart on me,” Sahasrahla answered with a small grin on his face.

After climbing the hill, Link could indeed see that this area was much more rural than the bustling place of trade he had witnessed before. The streets were not nearly as densely packed, if they could even be called streets. Where as before the roads were paved of stone and brick, here only the earth served as a path.

Far less people roamed the street, in part because there were less of them to do so, and in part because of the late hour of the day. There seemed to be naught but a main plaza, with few small roads branching off, leading off into the distance, where Link caught sights of various homesteads, cattle enclosings, and fields of hay. When he had seen the town from a distance, he knew that it was big, but the true scope of this city had escaped him until this moment. Link hadn't even noticed it, but his mouth had been agape for most of their journey through this township. He had never seen such a place, and didn't expect to see one again soon. Link was truly in awe.

Sahasrahla just kept pushing forwards, and after a moment of pause, Link followed him. Veering course off to the left, Sahasrahla finally ceased his march in front of an old tavern. Rather worn and shabby, the pub was somewhat small, and the dull red paint was chipping and peeling in several places, revealing the brown wood underneath. Link glanced above the door to a sign stating the tavern's name and couldn't help but laugh a little. “The Cow's Udder?” Link inquired humorously.

“And jus' wha' is wrong with a name like tha'?” Sahasrahla said smiling, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh... nothing,” Link said, and continued laughing to himself as they entered the bar.

All manner of folk occupied the interior. There were the stout and the meager, the short and the tall, those who were old and wizened, and those who were young and strong. The same creatures wandering the streets earlier occupied this tavern, along with those who were more human, but all were so tightly packed it was a wonder anyone could navigate the place. Link knew not what to make of the spectacle before him, for he had seen naught similar to it. A low, gruff, yet friendly voice suddenly rang out somewhere in front of Link, though he couldn’t tell from whom it came: “Sal? Sal!” the voice cried out, dragging out the vowel the second time it called out.

Sahasrahla looked around for the source of the voice but was unsuccessful. “Sal! Over here!” the voice cried out again.

From the crowd, a man squeezed through a few of the figures in front of them. How he had managed to make his way through the crowd with such ease was something of a mystery, for his girth seemed as though it would make this nigh impossible. An incredibly round, short man now stood before them. His skin was tanned from many years of hard labour and sun, and his face was so flushed it seemed to be in a permanent state of exertion. The top of his head was completely bald, and the hair that he remained seemed to be more of a mane as it ran seamlessly into his large, grizzly beard. His hair was dark at the roots and lighter at the tips, another sign of much time in the sun. The shaggy unkempt hair he did have was pulled back into a ponytail. A dirty red shirt, covered by even dirtier blue suspenders, seemed as though it had been the only clothes he had worn for weeks. Link couldn’t help but wonder if he had any other clothes.

His small, beady eyes met with Sahasrahla’s, whose face immediately turned into an enormous smile. “Talon!” he exclaimed exuberantly before clasping the man in a hearty embrace, which was readily returned by the man.

The man laughed deeply and said, “Ah, Sal, it’s been a while, but I knew yeh couldn’ stay away from here for too long.”

“Aye, Talon, I couldn’t,” Sahasrahla said, taking a step back, a hand still on the man’s shoulder.

“What brings yeh round these parts?” the man asked before noticing Link, “And who’s yer little friend?”

Sahasrahla smiled and looked at Link for a moment before turning back to Talon: “Those questions have the same answer, actually. Le’ me buy yeh a drink, and I can answer ‘em for yeh,” he said, leading his friend over to the bar, “’Fore we do tha’ though, le’ me introduce yeh.”

Looking at Link, he started, “Link, this be me old friend, Talon. We go back a long ways. And Talon, this be Link.”

“Why hello there, little feller,” Talon said, offering his thick beefy hand down in greeting; Link took it, his hand dwarfed by Talon’s, and was rewarded with a large streak of dirt on his palm, even more noticeable than that which was already there.

Actually, now that he thought of it, Link hadn’t gotten the chance to bathe since they’d left the forest. Not that it was of particular concern in this area, as most appeared even dirtier than he, but this was no way to see a princess….

Link was snapped from his reverie as Talon and Sahasrahla headed towards the bar, starting to leave him behind. Quickly drawing himself up and following them into the crowd, Link was surprised when he suddenly ran into a large creature that had walked in front of his path. Looking up to see what it was, his jaw went agape at the sight that stood before him: an orange behemoth, so large it covered his view. An enormous figure, easily ten times Link’s size, the beast was covered in spiny growths of rock, deposits of silicate lacing them up and down in intricate, yet organic, patterns.

Link didn’t quite know what to make of it at first, and then the creature turned around, revealing its front side: a large belly, accompanied by equally large sinews, were perhaps the most intimidating aspects of the creature. Its large muscular arms looked as though they were capable of carving through rock. The fact that the creature had a face meant that there must have been a head, but Link couldn’t tell where the body ended and it began. The brute had a small peak at its crown, topped with a small growth of rock. When the creature opened its mouth, a low, rumbling, and surprisingly friendly voice escaped: “Whoa, little Hylian, I didn’t see you there. You might want to watch your step in this place.”

And with that, the being pursed its lips into what Link could only interpret as an awkward attempt at a smile, turned round, and pushed its way back into the crowd, unintentionally forcing aside a whole slew of the other patrons as he, or at least Link thought it was a he, did so. Shaking his head from the moment, Link continued through the crowd to find Sahasrahla. Finally he saw him talking with his friend Talon at the bar. Running up, Link was about to ask him just what that thing was he encountered, when he overheard what him and his friend were talking about. “So, is that boy a Child of the forest?” the man named Talon asked quietly.

Looking around somewhat suspiciously, Sahasrahla hesitantly answered, “Yes.”

Talon tried his hardest to suppress his joyous laughter, and it came out in a hoarse guffaw. “I knew it! I knew it!” he exclaimed in a whisper, “Oh, Sal, you sly dog you. Where’s he headed?”

Sahasrahla took a long drink from the pint of ale in front of him. “Hyrule Castle,” he said, putting the glass back down on the bar, garnering a bushy eyebrow being raised on Talon’s face, “He didn’ tell me why. Tha’s just where he has to get to. Which brings me to wha’ I really wanted to ask yeh.”

“I take it yeh need passage ‘long to capital city,” Talon said, almost reading Sahasrahla’s mind, “And ye’re in luck, ‘cause me and Malon are headin’ thar in three days time. Got a shipmen’ wha' needs delivery.”

Coming up to them now, Link finally made his presence known. “Ah, Link, there yeh are, lad,” Sahasrahla exclaimed, “What took you so long?”

It was clearly more of a rhetorical question, as he immediately turned his attention back to Talon. “So, Malon’ll be taggin’ along, eh? Isn’ she a bit young fer tha’?”

“Heh, yer memory’s startin’ to go in yer age, Sal. Malon’s twelve now,” Talon answered.

“Twelve! She mus’ have grown quite a bit since the las’ time I saw her then.”

The conversation then turned towards far more frivolous talk about things that Link was neither familiar with nor interested in. This continued until it was completely dark outside. More and more of the patrons began leaving the bar until there were only a few left. Finally, Talon and Sahasrahla realized the lateness of the hour. “Oh, no, I lef’ Malon up on the ranch all on her own. She’s gonna give me all kinds of hell for being late,” Talon said, holding his head in his hands, “Hey, Sal, where are you staying for the night?”

“Well,” Sahasrahla began, “as it stands, we don’ have one yet. I was hopin’ to look for an inn somewhere ‘round here.”

“No, don’ be ridiculous,” Talon said, clapping Sahasrahla on the shoulder, “Yeh can stay with me and Malon up on the ranch tonight. ‘Specially since ye’ll be leaving with us in the mornin’.”

“We would be honored,” Sahasrahla said in the most serious tone Link had heard since meeting him.

After a moment, his face cracked into a smile, which quickly turned into a raucous bout of laughter between the two friends as they gave each other an affection grab on the shoulder. “Ah, Sal, I have missed you,” Talon said joyously, clearly elated about seeing his old friend again, “Come on, le’s get going. Don’ wanna make Malon any madder, after all.”

After giving parting sentiments to the bartender and remaining patrons, the duo exited the tavern with Link following behind them. They walked for a while along the road before Sahasrahla pulled back from Talon to speak with Link. “So, lad, we should be at Hyrule Castle by tomorrow evening,” he said to the young boy.

“Good,” Link replied somewhat distantly, “Sahasrahla, can I ask you a question?”

“Aye, lad, go ahead,” he replied.

“What was that, uh, thing about back there? Where you and he just laughed for no reason?”

Sahasrahla looked at Link with a hint of melancholy in his gaze. “If there’s anything I hope for yeh, lad, it’s tha’ ye’ll someday understand tha’.”

And with that, Sahasrahla caught back up with Talon, leaving Link to ponder his final words.

An amazing chapter, and a great new twist on Lon Lon. Just that addition makes this Hyrule so much more lively than its video game counterpart. Great job on the character interactions, and... well if I kept going I would have a post about as long as that chapter. Keep up the good work!

Wow, just wow. I did not honestly expect this much from a game novelization. This is some of the fanfiction I have ever read and (though it shames me to say it) is much better than anything I have managed to write at this point. Bravo! I look forward to reading the rest of the story!

Absolutely excellent! Makes OOT seem boring and repetitive by comparison!

Every episode that is made is better than the last! I also love how you do the fighting scenes, the wolf one especially. I could easily imagine that upwards thrust bit in epic slow motion!

Ah, it was 2008 when I last commented this?

Where have you been, my boy?

Great chapters. I liked to last chapter better, it seemes to have more action, maybe because of the whole peahat thing.

I bet it is going to be hard for Link to go to temple to temple in the future.

Keep up the good work!

Hopefully there wont be a year gap till your next update.

Originally Posted by Xeves

An amazing chapter, and a great new twist on Lon Lon. Just that addition makes this Hyrule so much more lively than its video game counterpart. Great job on the character interactions, and... well if I kept going I would have a post about as long as that chapter. Keep up the good work!

Hahahahaha. Probably a good thing you didn't post everything then, as that's the longest chapter I've written thus far. In seriousness though, thanks. I'll try.

Originally Posted by Sir Calibur

Wow, just wow. I did not honestly expect this much from a game novelization. This is some of the fanfiction I have ever read and (though it shames me to say it) is much better than anything I have managed to write at this point. Bravo! I look forward to reading the rest of the story!

Well, hopefully I can shatter a few more of your expectations about a game novelization in the future. And thanks. It's always nice to hear from someone new.

Originally Posted by SeedsofLight

Absolutely excellent! Makes OOT seem boring and repetitive by comparison!

Every episode that is made is better than the last! I also love how you do the fighting scenes, the wolf one especially. I could easily imagine that upwards thrust bit in epic slow motion!

Heheheh. I must confess, I myself had imagined that part of the fight scene in slow motion as well. And it's always nice to hear that I'm writing the fighting scenes okay. It's hard to find an even balance between detailing them enough to let the reader know what is going on in this short period of time, but not bog it down in extravagant detail and make it slow. Glad to know that I have indeed accomplished this though. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Zeldadudetp

Ah, it was 2008 when I last commented this?

Where have you been, my boy?

Oh, there were several factors keeping me away. The charger for my laptop died, so I had to get it replaced, then I moved into an apartment and didn't have internet for a few months, and then just... other real life stuff got in the way. But that's of no concern. I'm back now, and I plan to see this thing through to the end.

Great chapters. I liked to last chapter better, it seemes to have more action, maybe because of the whole peahat thing.

I bet it is going to be hard for Link to go to temple to temple in the future.

Yeah, I was trying to convey that Hyrule was a majestic kingdom, but that it was also dangerous. I figured the best way to do this was to throw what is probably the most annoying field enemy in the game (sans the Big Poes, of course).

Keep up the good work!

Hopefully there wont be a year gap till your next update.

I hope so as well. And thanks for the comment. It's always appreciated.

Oh, also, just to keep everyone posted. I made a slight edit to the previous chapter. Instead of Talon leaving for Hyrule Castle the next day, I changed it to three days. As I started writing Chapter 10 (yes, it's already in production, for those of you worried that I might wait several months before updating again) it became glaringly obvious that a single day was not enough to do all that I wanted to with Lon Lon Ranch. Thus the change was necessary for the momentum and development of the story. But yeah, just thought I'd let you guys know so you weren't all like, "Wait, didn't he say they were leaving tomorrow, and now they're staying for a few days?"

Originally Posted by Shinespark

Link rubbed his eyes for a moment, then reached for his blanket to remove it before remembering that he was still in naught but his under garments. “Uh, Navi, do you think you could turn around or leave for a minute while I change?”

She giggled for a second before mockingly saying, “Awwww, a bit shy are we? How cute!”

Rolling his eyes, Link replied, “Not particularly. I just figured that you wouldn't want to see me half naked.”

I laughed out loud at that part! Thanks for giving me my daily dose of laughter!

I also liked Mido getting what was coming to him, as others have mentioned. I especially like where the whole story is going. Link's character is exactly how people should see him in OoT, in my honest opinion. In a fanfic that I'm working on, Link is nowhere near as well-developed as you have made him (I kind of suck at writing anyway, so that doesn't help me). I say good job on capturing Link very well!

Also, I find the humor to be very amusing. I've laughed at all of the humor I found, and that, my friend, is one of the reasons why I will continue to read current and future chapters.

Great work!

Alright everyone, it's here. Chapter Ten. See, I told you it wouldn't be as long as last time between chapters.

-----------------------------

Chapter Ten

The young girl had always liked to watch the sunrise. The way the oranges and reds played across the green open pastures; how the reds and yellows of the sun, the greens of the fields, and the greys and blues of the buildings coalesced into a beautiful display of light and colour: a hidden pact between the natural and the man-made creating a rainbow of sorts, bridging the two forces that, under any other conditions, would be at odds with each other. Here the beauty of nature and the majesty of architecture became one. But not yet. There were still a few minutes before this wondrous event was to occur.

Stepping out of her bed, the girl’s feet recoiled at the cold touch of the wooden floor. Curling her toes to brace for the temperature, she once again placed her feet on the hard wood and stood up out of bed. The cold of the morning easily pierced through the thin slip she wore now that it was exposed to the air, no longer protected by the warm of the bed. Shivering slightly, she tiptoed to a small wardrobe and opened the door. A small selection of plain bland clothing hung from the small rack.

The girl looked sternly at the various dresses and shirts for a minute before finally deciding on a white, short-sleeved dress with a blue rectangular pattern lining the bottom of the sleeves and body. In truth, it was more of a long shirt than a dress, meant to be worn as a top, with a skirt to cover the bottom half of the body. However, on the young girl, the shirt was low enough that it didn’t even reveal her ankles while she was standing. Taking the dress off its rack, she removed it from its hanger and quickly slipped it on, eager to rush out of the house and watch the sunrise.

Over in a corner of the room lay her boots. She didn’t even cast a glance at them as she ran outside, her small feet barely making a sound on the wooden stairs as she quickly descended them. A small pitter-patter was the only indication that someone was even awake in the quiet farmhouse, let alone running around. She pushed the door open and was greeted by the blue light of a still serene morning. The sun had not yet risen. There was still time.

Now dashing out towards the direction of the light, the farmhouse she’d just exited on her left, a large stable to her right. Beyond the two buildings lay a large green pasture of grass and hay, a large, round, gated enclosure in the center of it; a high fence wrought of black iron. The girl slowed down as she approached the entrance to the gated area of the field, the soft grass turning to a hard dirt path that circled the enclosure, as though it were some kind of track. Opening the gate, she began running again, the dew on the soft grass in the early morning numbing her toes and wetting the bottom of her dress.

Finally she reached her destination: the absolute middle of the pasture. After several long minutes of intently gazing to the east, a glare finally arose from the mountain range that created the border of the lands of Hyrule. This was it; the sun was about to rise. She raised her hands high in the air and closed her eyes. A moment later the first rays of the sun crept over the peaks of the mountains, bathing the young girl in warmth and light. Her face lifted into a large smile as she opened her eyes and greeted the sun with an overjoyed yell of, “Good morning!”

It was beautiful. All of it. The shadows of all the structures in the sun’s path, both natural and man-made, created a glorious display of contrast and beauty. The dew on the grass glistened for mere seconds before it evaporated. The girl had always pretended that these were fairies come to visit her. Slowly lowering herself to the ground, she laid back and let the sun warm her feet, her scarlet hair splayed out on the grass around her head. She laughed as the sensation of feeling came back to her toes and they became dried in the sun’s heat. Looking up in the sky, shades of yellow and red streaked across the otherwise blue and cloudless sky. A glorious start to a glorious day.

And with that, the girl picked herself up, dusted off her clothes, and began running back to the house. The morning had begun, and with it so too had time for work. Rushing over the grassy pasture, she made her way back to the farmhouse and up to her room. She walked over to the corner she had ignored previously, grabbed her boots and began putting them on, tying up the laces tight as usual. Wouldn’t want any grass or bugs to get in there, after all, she thought. Almost ready now, she had naught but one task left to her. She opened the door to her room and walked straight across the hallway, opening the door directly across from hers.

The sight of her father - a large man with a wooly beard and wild hair kept back in a ponytail - still asleep in his bed greeted her. She rolled her eyes and giggled. “Wake up sleepyhead,” she said loudly, trying to wake him.

No response. She repeated it, a little louder this time. Still no response. Finally, she rushed into the room, climbed on the bed, and began wildly jumping on it, delightfully shouting, “Wake up!” over and over.

Jarred from what was clearly a deep slumber, the girl’s father woke up with a start, immediately sitting up in his bed. “Wha... wha’ is it?” he said sleepily, not entirely aware of what was going on around him.

Now settling down, the girl sat on her father’s lap, put her arms around his neck, smiled, and said, “It’s time to wake up, sleepyhead.”

Despite being upset about having been woken up, her father couldn’t help but be warmed by her demeanor. A kind smile came across his face as he looked at her and said, “Alrigh’, just gimme a few minutes to get dressed and wha’not.”

Now perking up a little more, he gently slapped his daughter’s knee, saying, “Tell you wha’. Why don’ you go wake up Mr. Ingo while yer waitin’ fer me.”

The girl slightly cowered at the name and held her father just a little tighter at the mention of this. “But, papa, Mr. Ingo scares me.”

“Oh, Malon, don’t be silly,” came her father’s reply, “Mr. Ingo migh’ be a little rough ‘round the edges, but he’s a good man and a good worker. There’s nuttin’ to be ‘fraid of, I promise yeh.”

Smiling warmly at the girl, she couldn’t help but be upraised by his friendly presence. “Alright, papa, I’ll go wake Mr. Ingo up,” she said, trying her best to be happy about it.
“Tha’s a good girl. Now run along, and I’ll meet yeh outside in a minute.”

And with that, Malon hopped down off the bed and walked out of the room. Turning left and making her way another meter or so down the hallway, she came to a closed wooden door. Taking a deep breath and mustering up some courage, she opened the door a crack and peeked inside. Unable to see anything, she opened it wide enough so that she could stick her whole head through the doorway. In the bed was a man sleeping. He wasn’t as corpulent as Malon’s father, but he still had a rather large belly. “Uh,” Malon started quietly, stuttering a bit, “Mr. Ingo? It’s… it’s time to wake up.”

The man shuffled slightly in his bed, but otherwise remained motionless. Malon cleared her throat and said again, louder this time, “Mr. Ingo, it’s time to wake up.”

Another shuffle, but still he didn’t wake. A few more times garnered the same response. Malon was becoming increasingly frustrated with the situation. Finally she opened the door wide, walked right up to the edge of the bed and shouted, “Mr. Ingo!”

Finally reacting to the noise, the man in bed jolted up, turned over to face her and yelled, “What the hell do you want?!”

Malon was severely frightened by his outburst, but tried her best to hold her ground. “My, uh, my father” she stuttered, “says it’s time to wake up and do some work.”

“Oh does he now?” the man asked snidely, “Well, tell that wonder of a worker that I’ll be right out.”

Malon would have had to have been a fool to not grasp the thick layer of sarcasm Mr. Ingo had drenched his words in. Deciding though that she had done her job of waking him, and that any further dealings had best be left to her father, she quietly acknowledged him and backed out of the room. Under his breath the man muttered, “One of these days, Talon, one of these days. You’ll get what’s coming to you for being so lazy, and then I, the great Ingo, will finally be able to run this ranch the way it was meant to be.”

But Malon didn’t hear these words. She was already running out the door of the house by the time he finished his utterance. Still running, she entered the barn just across the way from her house. Dashing over to one of the corners, she grabbed the bag of oats and began feeding it to the various horses they had in the stables. Most of the horses she passed were brown and black. Filling up each of the horse’s oat bags, she made her way around the entire stables, finally reaching the end of them. In the last stable was an especially beautiful foal. Its fur was of a rich burgundy color, and it had a white mane and tail. The fur on the lower half of its legs was black, with another frill of white just before the hooves.

Malon showed particular care to this one. Before filling up the oat bag, she poured a little into her hand and let the foal eat off it. “Yeah, there you go, girl,” Malon said, a smile on her face, “Eat up. There’s a good girl.”

The foal quickly gobbled the oats out of Malon’s hand, so she filled up the bag and let the foal eat, petting her as she did so. Malon looked upon the foal with loving eyes; it was her favorite horse. Watching how she buried her head into the bag, how her black eyes shimmered in the beams of light that slipped through the windows and the cracks in the walls, how her beautiful white tail gracefully swatted at flies. Malon just couldn’t think of anything more beautiful and majestic than a horse.

It was at this moment that Malon was lost in her day dreams and her gaze started wandering with her thoughts that she noticed the two figures sleeping at the other end of the barn. Her mind was quickly snapped from her reverie at this observation, and she was immediately gripped with both fear and curiosity. Who are these men? she wondered. Thinking better than to go wake the two, for fear that they might be vagrants - or worse: thieves - she slowly began to make her way out of the barn.

Before she could slip out the door however, one of the figures woke up. Paralyzed with fear, Malon could only watch in terror as the man pulled himself up to a sitting position and looked around the barn. Noticing Malon standing there, he squinted his eyes a bit, and took a long look at her before saying, “Malon? Is tha’ you?”

Quite taken aback by this man’s knowledge of her identity, Malon too looked hard at the stranger. “Oh, come now, Malon, you can’ have forgotten ‘bout me, could yeh?”
There was a familiarity to the man’s voice, of this she was certain. Racking her brain more, Malon desperately tried to recall where she knew this man. After a long pause she finally managed to squeak out, “Uncle Sal?”

“Aye, I knew yeh couldn’ ‘ave forgotten ‘bout me,” the man happily bellowed out.

Now finally realizing the identity of the man, she ran over to him and joyously threw her arms around him in a zealous embrace. “Uncle Sal!” she cried with glee, “I haven’t seen you in ages! Where have you been?! Did you have adventures?! Was it exciting?! Tell me all about it!”

“Oh, my how ye’ve grown!” Sahasrahla exclaimed in both delight and agony, as the weight of Malon throwing herself at him nearly toppled him back into the straw he had just risen from.

Finally managing to balance himself, Sahasrahla looked with joy into Malon’s eyes and said, “Now now, child, tha’ be a lotta question to be ans’rin at once. Which do yeh wanna know first?”

“All of them!” she said, a rather telling grin on her face betraying the joke she was trying to pull on Sahasrhala.

He played along with it nonetheless, and guffawed heartily at her suggestion. “Well tha’s not very fair at all, now is it?” he asked.

“Nope,” Malon replied, quite pleased with herself.

A smaller laugh escaped Sahasrahla’s lips this time. “Well, I tell yeh wha’, I’ll tell yeh all ‘bout my ventures and travels tonight o’er dinner. How’s tha’ sound?” he said, giving her a loving look and the most minute of winks, which she immediately picked up on.

Giving a small nod and smile as acknowledgement, Malon stood up and began walking over to the bag of oats she’d left on the floor explaining, “Well, if you don’t mind, Uncle Sal, some of us have work to be doing.”

“I sense me some mockery in tha’ tone. Don’ you be gettin’ smart on me, girl,” Sahasrahla said, accompanying this statement with a chuckle to let Malon know of his jest, though she hardly needed the affirmation.

Bringing himself to a position in which standing up would be a more attainable goal, Sahasrahla slowly rose to his feet and straightened his back, a sickening, yet satisfying, cracking noise accompanying this. He looked down to see his comrade still fast asleep on the bed of straw, trembling slightly despite the morning warmth. “Hey, Malon,” Sahasrahla yelled out, still looking at Link, “Would yeh mind wakin’ up me friend here? I’ve business to discuss wit’ yer father.”

Malon, who was still putting the bag of oats away, looked over at Sahasrahla before asking: “Is he nice?”

“Oh,” Sahasrahla said, becoming ever more concerned for Link’s trembling, “more or less.”

He smirked slightly and then finally brought his gaze to meet Malon’s. “Alright, Uncle Sal, just give me a minute to finish up over here,” came her reply.

“Sure thing Malon,” he said warmly, now heading for the exit to the barn.

A loud slamming sound notified Malon of Sahasrahla’s exit as she continued to get the horses ready for the day. Almost forgetting the deed she’d promised to do, it was several minutes before Malon finally made her way over to Link’s resting spot and knelt beside him. She couldn’t help but notice that his clothes were very odd. Something she’d never seen before. A long green tunic acting as both top and bottom pieces, tied around the waist with a brown leather belt. The tunic was badly tattered and torn. Next to the boy lay a pair of leather boots and an equally tattered green cap.

Just as she was about to wake the young boy, the hat moved; only slightly, but enough for Malon to take note of it. Curiously grasping the cap in her petite hands, she was quite startled when a blue light started emanating from within. Peaking over the rim, she couldn’t help but let out a large gasp. A small winged person lay asleep in the tip of the hat. She was no more than a few centimeters tall, but she gave off a powerful blue light. Blinding almost.

Another gasp escaped her mouth as she realized what this was. “A fairy!” she exclaimed, “They are real!”

Staring at the new found wonder a few seconds more, Malon finally put the hat down, careful not to disturb its inhabitant, and decided to wake up this strange boy. She hadn’t noticed it before, but the boy had been trembling for the duration of her presence. Trembles started turning to shudders, and a quiet shivering moan began flowing from the boy’s mouth. He must be having a terrible dream, Malon thought, now all the more eager to wake him.

Placing a hand on his side, she softly shook him, hoping to jar him from his slumber, but alas he remained asleep. Once again shaking him, this time harder, she started calling out to him. “Hey, uh… fairy boy!” she shouted, realizing she didn’t yet know his name, “Wake up!”

The boy slowly came to, groggily mumbling some unintelligible babble. The only word Malon could make out was, “Help.”

Shaking him and calling out a few more times, she finally managed to get him to turn onto his back and open his eyes, allowing her to finally see his face. Bright blue eyes peered up at her, veiled beneath goldenrod bangs. A hard jaw line accompanied by surprisingly soft facial features gave him a slightly handsome appearance, though most of this was undermined by several factors including his messy hair, torn clothing, and the smudges of dirt on his skin.

“Who… who are you? And where am I?” he spoke softly, clearly not yet entirely aware of his surroundings.

For a moment, Malon just remained staring at him, her gaze transfixed to his. Finally, she giggled lightly and said: “I’m Malon. And this is a barn on Lon Lon Ranch.”

Finding the second question rather odd, she added, “How do you not remember where you fell asleep?”

“I… I don’t know,” the boy responded, his thoughts decidedly elsewhere.

“What’s your name, fairy boy?” Malon asked, eyeing the boy with a questioning glance.

At this Link swiftly bolted up and came to attention. “What did you call me?!” he exclaimed.

Malon laughed hard for a moment before grinning and saying with ardour, “Fairy boy.”

Link noticeably glared at her for a moment. “Please, uh, Malon was it?” he began.

Malon nodded, still grinning. “Please, Malon, never call me that again.”

“Awww, why not?” Malon asked, grin growing wider, “I kind of like it.”

Link opened his mouth to say something, but Sahasrahla walked through the door just then. “Don’ mean to interrupt,” he began, “but i’s time fer yeh to earn yer keep here, lad.”
Link threw him a questioning glance and said, “What do you mean?”

Sahasrahla adopted a face of shock as he looked at Link dumbfounded. “Are yeh really tha’ dense, boy?”

Malon started giggling profusely at this point. Link shot her a sideways glance, but she ignored it and continued laughing. After a few moments of this, Link threw his arms in the air in surrender. “What?” he asked, not really sure of what was going on.

“Did yeh think yeh were jus’ gonna sit around and sleep all day? There’s work to be done, lad.”

Link looked as though he were about to protest, but Sahasrahla, perhaps in anticipation of this, abruptly turned to Malon and added, “Malon, would yeh kindly show Link wha’ he’s to be doin’?”

“Sure thing Uncle Sal,” she replied, still giggling.

Sahasrahla then turned round and exited the barn, leaving the two in solitude once again. Malon brought herself to her feet and began heading back to the stables on the other end of the barn, only pausing to look back at Link for a moment and say, “Come on, fairy boy. Follow me and I’ll show you what we’re doing.”

Standing up and dusting himself off, Link glared at the back of Malon’s head. “I told you not to call me that,” he said sternly, reaching for his boots and putting them on.

“Well,” Malon began, “what do you want me to call you?”

“My name is Link,” he replied, making his way towards her.

Having reached her destination, Malon turned around and looked at Link. “I like mine better,” she said, folding her arms across her chest and grinning at him.

Link thought of saying something, but decided to just ignore her instead. Reaching the other end of the barn, he walked up and stood beside her. “Now what?” he asked, not at all thrilled about the prospect of carrying out farm chores.

“We have to lead the horses out into the field so they can run around and graze throughout the day,” she explained, “But before that, we have to fit them with reins.”
Malon then went on to show Link how to equip one of the horses with reins, taking careful measure to explain each step she went through in an attempt to help him easier understand just what to do. After completing her demonstration, she had Link try it himself. He was subsequently the victim of many failed attempts from the horse to kick him. Following several minutes of this and Malon barking orders at him, he finally managed to complete his task and properly fit the horse with reins.

“Okay, fairy boy,” Malon said, “Good job. You think you can do some more on your own now?”

Link glowered at her for the name, but nodded at her nonetheless. “Alrighty then, let’s get going.”

She tossed him another pair of reins. “Just make sure you don’t try putting them on that pony over there,” she stated, pointing to the burgundy horse with the white trim.
“Why not?” Link asked.

“Because only I can tame that horse,” Malon explained, “She doesn’t like anybody else. Not even my papa.”

Link now stared intently at the horse, almost trying to discern just what it was that made her friendly towards Malon and none other. The pony stared back at him, certain that she would give him a swift quick in the teeth if he even tried to touch her. “What’s her name,” Link said, still looking at the horse.

“Epona,” Malon said softly, “Isn’t she pretty?”

“Epona,” Link repeated, more to himself than anything, “What a beautiful name.”

--------------------------------

Okay, so try not to be too put off by the sudden change in pace. I did this for two very important reasons. One, every chapter previous to this had been filled with all kinds of crazy plot and action, so I thought a chance to slow down would be nice for at least a chapter or two. And that it might actually be needed to calm everything down, and show that this grand adventure is just beginning.

Also, the chance to develop Malon's character as much as I did was just too tempting and I had to take it.

Yeah, it was good! A nice little resting pace is not a bad idea for a few chapters. But make sure it is intresting, if nothing's happenning then it isn't a good idea to slow down the pace. Try and put more humour into this section of the story, because it's either action or extreme important story stuff, or something like Lon Lon, which needs a reason to read it. That reason could be humour I suppose but you could have some action in there too. You could have theives attack LonLon, and because Link was doing late night working and is asleep in the field, he's not where the theives go, but everyone else is tied up and stuff and Link has to save all of them!

To any of you enjoying this story that would like to see some visual representations of changes I have in store (and later, hopefully, some changes I've already made) I have posted several pieces of art drawn by me to correlate with this story. They can be viewed here - Shinespark's Zelda Fan-Art

Last chapter was one of my favorites. There doesn't need to be violent action for it to be satisfying!

I want to say that this story is simply brilliant. You have taken an already beautiful story and are making it into an even greater, in-depth, powerful and dark story. What's more, you are doing it beyond what the definition of 'well' allows.
I must compliment your usage as far as description goes. You paint very vivid pictures in the minds of your readers, almost putting them behind Link's, Navi's, and now Malon's eyes. Also, your ability to write unique and realistic character personalities is phenomenal; they are consistent, yet with a realistic flexibility. Link is an obvious candidate for that last statement, seeing as Ocarina of Time is supposed to be a story of his maturing, which I see foreshadowed in past chapters and look forward to seeing later. And third I must say that your originality is intriguing at the very least.
Being a writer, and a lover of the Zelda series, I must say that you have written, by far, the best fanfic (if you can call it that) I have ever read. To emphasize how much I like this, I shall say that my main ulterior motive for registering with these forums was to subscribe to this story.

On a separate note, I shall say that this point was a very good time to have a resting point or 'peaceful' time. A good choice that many authors make the mistake of discarding. The ability to rest the reader's (and writer's) mind whilst still assuring interest is a valuable ability. You have it.

This was a great chapter as well.

I liked how you developed the characters in this one, especially Malon. Maybe she is going to be a major character?

I also liked how it foreshadowed Link's want/love for Epona.

And, for some reason, you make Lon Lon Ranch sound cozy.

Well... Keep up the good work!

Hey now, this is three chapters in a row that have come out with some regularity. How about that? I might actually be back into this thing.


Chapter Eleven

The day toiled on quite laboriously for Link. Anything from leading the horses out into the pasture to feed, to helping stack crate upon endless crate of a white substance he was not familiar with, that the others constantly referred to as ‘milk’, into several wagons in preparation for the journey to the castle was required of him. Amidst all this, just before eleven o’clock in the morning, Navi came flying out of the barn, screaming at Link for leaving her in there without so much as a word to what was going on. Link briefly apologized, saying he’d forgotten, though in actuality, he had left her there purposely in an attempt to spare himself from her annoyances for at least a small while.

Without hesitation, Malon began questioning Link and Navi as to what life was like in the forest. “Are there many other fairies? What are all of the Children like? What did you do while you were there?”

Slightly annoyed by all the questions, Link nonetheless began detailing his exploits in the wood to Malon. Starting with the trivial aspects of day to day life, then talking about what the other Kokiri were like. He reminisced about Saria for a brief moment while describing her to Malon, but briefly changed subjects to avoid this. Several times throughout his story, Malon made various gestures of surprise, glee, envy, and, upon the mention of Mido, fret. Link finished his story with the events that led up to his departure, sans a few of the more sensitive details. “And did you save him?” Malon asked, after he was finished.

“What?” Link inquired, not sure of what she was talking about.

“The Great Deku Tree. Did you save him?” she repeated.

Link paused for a moment before answering, contemplating just what he would say. “Well… in a way,” he finally managed to get out, “But not in the way I would have hoped.”

A look of melancholy came over Link’s face, even more detectable than the one that had encompassed him when he spoke of Saria, especially to someone as intuitive as Malon. She couldn’t say why, but she guessed that it was unusual for Link to display such emotion, and she couldn’t help but wonder what fate had befallen the Deku Tree to cause such a change in his otherwise stoic demeanor.

“Link,” Navi started tenderly, “It’s okay. Nobody blames you.”

“Not nobody,” Link said.

He didn’t say who he was talking about. He didn’t have to. Even Malon, having no real idea of what was going on, caught the implication. Whatever had happened to this Great Deku Tree, Link blamed himself for it. That much was clear. The next few minutes were marred by an uncomfortable silence. Malon and Link continued their work as though they were in solitude, Link not looking anywhere in particular, and Malon looking anywhere but at Link. Navi flitted above them with a quiet hum, trying to think of a remedy for the situation. “Well, Malon, how is life living on a ranch,” she finally managed to blurt out awkwardly.

“Oh, heh,” she laughed nervously, a gawky grin on her face “It’s not that exciting. Not nearly as much as a life in the woods, anyways.”

“Oh, I’m sure there’s plenty to tell,” Navi said, relieved that the conversation was no longer dead.

“Well,” Malon said, her smile becoming more natural now, “don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

She then launched into a rather grand speech (one might say epic if not for the mundane nature of the story) concerning her life on the ranch. This immediately revealed two things about her to Link: she was a social creature, as she clearly was very comfortable with talking for long and, for Link, often arduous intervals; and that she had led a rather simple life of glee and happiness, with no considerable tragedies to speak of. After nearly forty minutes of this, Navi interjected: “And what of your mother. I don’t think we’ve met her yet.”

“Oh, well, my mom is dead,” Malon said, surprisingly uncaring.

“Oh… sorry,” Navi apologized, looking at Link for some kind of response from him, but he remained distant, and none came.

“No no, it’s okay,” Malon hurriedly spoke, realizing the uncomfortable position she’d put Navi in, “It’s not a big deal. I… I never really knew my mother. She died not long after I was born.”

Link wasn’t really sure why, but he suddenly felt very sorry for Malon. He still wasn’t even very clear on what a mother and father were, having never known any his entire life. All the Kokiri were born of the Deku Tree, and parents weren’t something that they were even aware of. Not having any real idea why, Link was able to deeply empathize with Malon never knowing her mother, though there oughtn’t to have been any reason for him to even comprehend her feelings, let alone experience them. In fact, the feeling seemed almost natural to him.

“The only thing I remember from her, in fact,” Malon continued, “is this song she used to sing to me.”

“How does it go?” Link asked, much to the surprise of the other two, who weren’t aware that Link was even paying attention to the conversation.

Taking a deep breath, Malon opened her mouth and began singing a calm western tune, with a simple, yet elegant, melody. And not just singing. Serenading. Her voice was beautiful. Each note came out as lucid as glass, and as melodious as a church choir, but with the simplicity of a solo, ringing out in the clear air of the open pasture, echoing off the buildings and producing a gorgeous harmony of sound. Even Link could not help but be moved by the sound of her voice, so alluring it was.

Finally, Malon’s song came to a close. “Malon, that was beautiful,” Navi said, quite impressed with the young girl’s ability.

“Thanks,” Malon replied, giggling nervously.

Behind her the sound of a horse whinnying was heard. All three of them turned their attention towards the sudden sound to see Epona come running up to Malon, rubbing her head in the girl’s hand affectionately, begging to be pet. Malon gladly obliged, running her hand down the horse’s mane, making various sounds of bliss as she did so. “Awww, there’s a good girl,” she would say, “Awww, Epona.”

“What do you call the song?” Link said dryly, breaking Malon free from her reverie.

“Hmm?” she asked.

“What do you call the song?” he repeated.

“Oh, well, it never really had a name,” she began, “but I call it Epona’s Song, because it always tames Epona and makes her friendly.”

Link stood in wonderment at the beast before him. How could he possibly have guessed that even such a simple creature as a horse understood the power and beauty of music? This was truly an amazing horse, Link thought to himself. Turning back to work now, Link toiled away at his duties all through the afternoon. About an hour after midday, Malon asked Link to go find her father and tell him that the milk bottles (whatever those were) were ready to be crated up.

Link ended up finding him asleep inside the farmhouse, some strange birds with white and red feathers called Cuccos flocking all over the floor of the first level. After waking him up, giving him the message, and returning to the field, Link couldn’t help but inquire of Malon about Talon’s slumber. “Oh, did you find him napping again?!” she shouted out, “I swear to Din I’m gonna give him a railing over dinner!”

Now flailing her fist rather wildly, she continued, “If you ever find him like that again, fairy boy, you make sure to give him a swift kick in the pants! He always does that when I’m not looking!”

Link nodded his head in agreement, fearing that anything less might bring Malon’s wrath upon him, which was quite clearly not something he desired. The day continued into the evening, upon which Link was finally able to give up the tool, and make his way to the now particularly cozy-looking farmhouse on the other side of the field. Upon entering, however, Link was greeted with the prospect of having to help prepare dinner, before being able to eat it.

Malon kept quiet all throughout the preparation, but made good on her word at the dinner table, much to Sahasrahla’s amusement. Link couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard someone yell so loud, especially at their own father. But wait, Link thought, why does that seem improper to me? The thought was quickly forgotten when Malon reached across the table and pointed her finger into Talon’s chest; a rather odd spectacle, as she was half his height and a third his size. In fact, it was quite comedic, and Malon, Talon, and Sahasrahla were soon writhing with laughter.

Link didn’t join in, merely sitting back and eating his meal in peace. And it was a strange meal indeed. In the forest, Link’s diet consisted mostly of plants, roots, and vegetable, with the occasional squirrel or bird slain with a slingshot; but here, his meal was something called steak--which they said was from the cows he met earlier, but he didn’t fully believe them--served with some odd root called a potato, and the white liquid from earlier: milk. He found the latter particularly delicious. Although a bit skeptical in its origins from said cows, he nonetheless heartily enjoyed the beverage. Far better than any river or stream he’d ever come across in the forest.

After the raucous trio calmed down, dinner was a rather peaceful affair, the most exciting thing being Sahasrahla detailing all of his adventures to Link, Talon, and especially Malon. And his adventures had been many, for they sat at the table nearly an hour, listening to him detail great battles with exotic creatures at the borders of Hyrule, or talking all about some far off race of people Link had never heard of. After the meal, Link had somehow been volunteered for more work, as he had to help clean up the remnants of their supper. He and Malon scrubbed the metal plates off in a dirty bucket of water they kept in the corner, whilst Talon and Sahasrahla retreated into the opposite corner in some comfy looking chairs, no doubt catching up on how many years had passed since their last meeting.

At one point, Malon started splashing water on a rather unamused Link, an act she immediately stopped after she caught a sideways glare from him. Evening turned into night, and it was becoming time for them to entreat one another, and retreat to their beds. “I wish I could offer yeh a better place than them barns, Sal,” Link heard Talon say apologetically.

“Think nuttin’ of it friend,” Sahasrahla replied warmly.

As Link headed out the door, Malon stopped him. “Hey, fairy boy,” she called out.

He turned around to face her. “What do you say you let me mend those clothes up for you?” she asked, “You can borrow some of the extra clothes we keep away in that chest over there.”

Link followed her pointing finger to the small chest against the far wall of the room. “I… I guess,” he stuttered, trying to sound thankful, but unsure of how.

“You can change in hear,” she said, ignoring his failed attempt at gratitude, “I’ll go upstairs. You can leave your green clothes on the table there, and I’ll come down in a few minutes and grab them, okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Link said, still trying to sound thankful; “Thanks,” he finally managed to blurt out.

“No problem,” Malon replied, already heading up the stairs, Link following her step along the way.

Navi flitted above Link’s head for a few seconds before saying, “So, you thanked her.”
“Yeah, so?” Link said mildly defensively, “She was being nice.”


“So were you,” Navi replied, “You didn’t glare at her when she called you ‘fairy boy’.”

“So, it’s starting to grow on me. What’s it to you?” Link asked, growing more defensive.

“Oh, nothing,” she said, and flew out the window, allowing Link the privacy he needed to find fitting clothes and change.

A few minutes later, Link was garbed in some strange brown cloth that slightly itched at him when he moved. Link exited the farmhouse and entered into the adjacent barn, the light of the candle being blown out in the house behind him, presumably by Malon, before he’d even reached the stables. Walking to the other end of the barn, he flopped down into the hay, and fell asleep within minutes.

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He was at the edge of the precipice again, fire cascading around him, overwhelming him with its intense heat. Billowing black smoke filled his lungs as he coughed up ash. Carbon seemed to pour forth from his pores, he was so smothered by the flames. He began crying for help, trying to glimpse through the licking fire to find Navi, Saria, anyone. But it was in vain. Even past the flames, the air seemed to be colored a thick grey and red, as though the whole sky were afire. Whatever world he was in, it seemed only to be composed of fire. Everywhere, surrounding him, encompassing his being and asphyxiating his very essence. There was no escape from it. It was everywhere. Link went limp, and allowed himself to fall into the blackness beneath him. Down, down, and down. He couldn’t decide whether this or the fire was better.

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Sweating profusely, Link awoke to find himself staring into an unfamiliar face. Whatever it was, it was beautiful. He could make out no facial features, his visage was so blurred, but he knew it was beautiful. How could it not be? It was saving him, releasing him from his hellish prison. Escape shouldn’t have been possible, but he did it anyways. No, the face did, whoever it was. The image focused, and he became more aware he was no longer dreaming, as the face became that of Malon’s. He hadn’t realized it, but he was tightly squeezing her hand in an attempt to pull himself free from his nightmare.

Swiftly coming to his senses, Link let her hand go and pushed himself away from her. “I… I’m sorry,” she quickly apologized, taking this as a sign of distaste, “But you were having another bad dream, and I couldn’t just leave you in your nightmare.”

Link stared at her a few moments. “Another?” he finally said, still staring at her.

“Yes, you were having one yesterday as well,” she said, calming down a little, but still very frightened by the occurrence.

“Malon, look, I…,” Link started, fumbling over his words, “Forget about it. It was nothing.”

The next few minutes were rather silent between them as they prepared for the day. It wasn’t long until Malon came around though, and became her talkative self once again. Today’s work turned out to be much different than the day previous’. Instead of tending to various animals, Link’s work was in getting prepared for the journey to Hyrule Castle. This involved loading more crates of milk into wagons, and getting said carriages ready to have horses strapped to his. The horses themselves also had to be prepared to be hooked to the yokes. Sahasrahla offered to have Sleipnir help pull the load, since he would have to come anyways, to which Talon readily agreed.

This day went by much faster and smoother for Link. Though still a bit sore from the past day’s work, he found the preparing of horses and wagons to require much less physical exertion than tending to the animals and fields. Before he knew it, the tasks were completed, the group was prepared to leave for the next day, and it was time for the evening meal. Not much differed from the previous night’s supper. Sahasrahla told stories, and then the children cleaned up the mess while Sahasrahala and Talon talked in hushed voices over in their little corner.

Soon, it was time to go to bed once again. Malon promised Link that his clothes would be properly mended by the next morning and bid him goodnight. Once again making his way out to the barn, and quickly falling asleep. After a rare dreamless night, Link awoke to the sound of Talon shouting orders to the others. Doing his best to pretend as though he were still asleep, Navi ruined any chance of this happening by shouting at him to wake up. Before he knew it, he was swept up in the madness of the moment, and completed flustered tasks as fast as he could, just so the insanity would end and he could be calm again.

Before too long though, the crew was finally ready to head out. “Now Ingo, you be good to the horses, and make sure they behave” Malon said to the cantankerous farmhand just before hopping into the back of one of the wagons, not giving a second look back on him.

“Oh, I’ll make sure they behave,” Ingo said under his breath, somewhat sadistically “Any dumb beast can be tamed with pain.”

Once again though, no one took note of the inconspicuous man, far too wrapped up in the rush of the moment. Finally, the wagons began moving and they were off. This is it, Link thought, I’m finally going to Hyrule Castle.

Link took a long look back at the farm that had sheltered him for the past two days before looking forward, entirely uncertain of what view the horizon might bring.

Once again, a grand chapter to add on to this phenomenal story. The character development is flourishing in this passage, and again the absence of violence does not deter from the excitement. Keep up the good work, as well as the fast pace you are developing these at. I commend thee! =D

Yeah! Keep going! Hopefully you can finish the whole story of OOT! Do you think it could happen?

This chapter was better than the previous.

I like how you made it that Link didn't know what milk was, because I would have never remembered that if this was my fan-fic.

Keep up the good work!

I always have nothing but good things to say about your writing.

well I read it, I think my brain is fried lol I like all the extra stuff you added like him helping on lon lon with milk crates and crap, I'm sorry but thats only one I can remember right now lol, keep going with this I really enjoyed it!

EDIT
oh and umm I never got the feeling in the game that link hated the world though I loled when I read that.

Wheee, Aralith, another two great chapters! :>

Just one tiny little error I saw:

“You can change in hear,” she said, ignoring his failed attempt at gratitude,

I think you can see the problem yourself, just a little mixup that Mircosoft Word wouldn't notice.