Indigo

Indigo smiled. It had taken a lot of hard work, but the farm was finally back on its feet. For years he had slaved away, repairing this, building that. All the while, Talon had sat on his big fat ass . Talons daughter had been a bit better – she worked well with the horses. If she had put in even half as much effort into the rest of the farm, it would have been fine. Instead, the farm had been slowly going to ruin. Talon was losing customers. He sometimes forgot to deliver, and the farm had gotten a reputation of being unreliable. Their milk was of high quality, but when it constantly arrived a few days after you wanted it, or sometimes not at all, people started going through other farms.

In a way, he could understand it. Talon and Malons entire world had fallen apart when Maroon had died. It was she who used to drive the cart into town with their milk and eggs to sell. When she died, Talon seemed to loose his purpose. Before that, he had always been up at the crack of dawn, milking the cows, feeding the chickens and collecting their eggs, helping Indigo build the barn or expand upon the house. Indigo looked back upon those years as the golden years. Malon had also been different back then. She spent all her time helping her mother with the chores, or with the horses. Even back then the girl had been good with them. Whenever her mother got back from town, she'd bring Malon out and train the horses with her.

But that was before.

After, Malon didn't quite fall into herself the way her father did. Something did break inside the girl though. She spent her entire day with the horses. If it wasn't horse related, it was like it just didn't exist for the girl. The only exception was when the girl started daydreaming. Every so often she's just stop what she was doing, start humming that tune her mother had taught her, and wander around aimlessly for a hour or two. Then she'd get back to the horses, as though nothing had happened. The horses benefited from all that extra attention, but the rest of the farm needed her help too. Indigo couldn't do it all by himself, no matter how much he tried. And the girl wouldn't listen to him. Wouldn't listen to anyone really.

Talon was worse. He stopped getting up at dawn and now was rarely up before mid day. When he finally did manage to stagger out the front door, ready to lend a hand, he was usually halfway to drunk, and approaching fast. After Maroon died, he just stopped caring.

Maroon wasn't just Malons mother though, or just Talons wife. She was Indigo's sister.

He hurt too. Maroon had been a wonderful person. Incredibly compassionate, caring… it was impossible to be around her and not love her.

Somehow though, when she had died, Indigo had been able to cope with his grief, while Malon and Talon had not.

Indigo had understood. He left them to their grief, and went about maintaining the farm while waiting for them to recover. But they didn't. For three years, Indigo worked from dawn till dusk, slowly wearing himself out with the endless workload. There was just enough time in the day for one person to do all the little chores that needed doing. Collecting the eggs, milking the cows, weeding, planting, harvesting… He was just about able to manage all these.

The problem was, there wasn't any time to do the big chores. When something broke, it stayed broken, or received a quick-fix, rather than being fixed properly or replaced. Indigo was occasionally able to get Talon to lend a hand, but he was always half drunk now. He'd start with great enthusiasm, then either lose interest and wander off, or keep drinking, and end up falling asleep on the task. He almost never finished what he started now. The farm was showing serious signs of neglect. The house was leaking, the gate at the front of the farm didn't close any more, and the barn would probably fall down in the next big storm unless he took a few days to replace some of the support beams. But he just didn't have the time. A year after Maroon had died, all this had started eating at him. He'd started to grow bitter at the way he was always doing all the work, especially when he came in after a long day and Talon had spent half of it drinking and sleeping.

It was around that time that Ganon had approached him. He'd just marched in one day, a few armored bodyguards following him. Not that the man needed bodyguards. Anyone could tell just by looking at him that Ganon was a man you didn't want to mess with. Indigo had been nervous. Scared, would be a more accurate term. While he spent most of his time working on the farm, he did occasionally have to make deliveries to the city, and had heard a lot of nasty rumors about the new ruler of Hyrule. Ganon very quickly put these fears to rest though. He assured Indigo that he would not be harmed, praised him on the strength he displayed in running the farm, showed considerable admiration for the quality of the horses they bred there, and offered him an ongoing contract to act as the castles stable.

The flattery had done it's work, and Indigo led Ganon to Talon – who had to be roused from bed. Talon hadn't been at his best. Still groggy from sleep, smelling of sour beer and sporting a hangover, he had looked at Ganon and Indigo with confusion – and once he realized who Ganon was, more than a little fear. Ganon had snorted in disgust at the sight.

"This is the man who owns the farm? This man, who sleeps while you work? Who drinks while you break your back in labor? To own something, you must keep it in good working order, must have the knowledge of how to use it, and most importantly, the strength - both in mind and body, to use it to it's full potential. This man has none of these traits. He doesn't have the strength to be the owner of this farm, and so I say, he isn't. In fact, I say the true owner of this farm is you."

There wasn't much more said. Talon was assisted off the farm by one of Ganons bodyguards. Indigo was in two minds. On one hand, Talon was his old friend, and it was his farm. On the other… Indigo had slaved over the farm for years. If not for him, the farm would have completely fallen apart, so it should be his farm anyway, right?

To salve his conscience – which was still pricking him for some reason – he arranged for Talon to be taken to some relatives in Kakariko village.

That marked a turning point for the farm. With the patronage of Ganon, the farm started to prosper again. Indigo was able to hire workmen to fix all that had broken down over the years. Malon now avoided him, but as she still spent just as much time working with the horses, Indigo didn't mind. With the patronage from Ganon, the horses were the main income source for the farm now. In fact, once word had spread, Ganon very quickly became the farms only source of income.

Indigo wasn't completely happy with Ganon as his patron. He heard a lot of rumors, and he could see for himself that the land wasn't doing as well under his leadership. This occasionally sparked some concern in him, especially when he traveled to town, and there was less food available and everyone looked scared.

It also bothered him when the townsfolk started treating him as an outsider. It had happened shortly after the meeting with Ganon. He had arrived in Hyrule Town with some deliveries, and everyone was very… polite. Polite and reserved. Old friends he'd known for years would barely speak to him. No one refused to sell to him, but no one wanted to buy from him either.

It had hurt a little, but in the end, the opinions of a few townsfolk didn't matter. Or at least Indigo had told himself that. Lon Lon Ranch was Indigo's world, and under Ganon, it was doing just fine. Indigo would take care of Lon Lon ranch, and the rest of the world could take care of itself.

The only real contact with humanity Indigo had was Ganon. He visited once or twice a year, usually sending a messenger a week or two beforehand in order to let him know.

Indigo grew to look forward to these visits. He would hire workmen in, and have the farm looking spotless by the time Ganon arrived. And if he constantly had to berate the workmen to work harder, then that was to be expected. This was the ruler of the land visiting! Normal standards just weren't good enough. Then Ganon would ride in, on his jet-black horse (provided by Indigo's ranch), with a small group of bodyguards and retainers behind him, on their own horses (provided by his ranch), and the inspection would begin.

Ganon knew horses, that much was certain. After he had inspected their teeth, looked at their hooves, watched them trot, he would ask Indigo if he wanted to join them for lunch.

These were the highlight of the trip for Indigo. A chance to sup with the Ruler of Hyrule!

Granted, the man was very overbearing, but what else could you expect from a ruler?

Indigo was happy to eat the fine food and listen to the man talk. And under Ganons influence, he slowly changed.

He had already become bitter towards both Malon and Talon. He already was rather proud of the Lord's patronage. Under Ganons influence though, these feelings deepened, and crystallized. He developed contempt for those who were weak. He had made it to where he was by strength of spirit, and strength of arms. Talon had strength of arms, but lacked the strength of spirit – and lost everything. Malon also lacked the strength to deal with her mothers death, and escaped to dreams rather than face reality. The townsmen didn't like him because they were jealous. They were jealous of the success his hard work had bought him. Rather than take him as an example, and strive to work harder themselves, their small minded pettiness led them to hate and distrust him instead.

Then that snotty-nosed little brat with the fairy showed up, and everything changed again.

It was pride that led him unstuck, he could see that now. When the kid was in front of him, all Indigo saw was a scruffy, dirty vagabond – no doubt on the road because he was running from some problem at home he lacked the strength to face. Indigo wasn't really interested in the money he was extorting from the kid by this stage, he was just interested in having a little fun with the chump. When the kid actually won the race, he flew into a panic. All the horses here belonged to the Lord. What would Ganon do when he found Indigo had lost him one of his horses? So Indigo locked the gate. It may not have been fair, but the farm was more important than honoring some promise to a vagabond.

Then the kid got free with the horse anyway. Indigo lived in fear for many months after that, dreading the day Ganon would arrive at the gate. The fear paralyzed him – and slowly, changed him. His proud, haughty demeanor was gone, replaced by a fugitive look. His fine clothes were gone, replaced by clothes easier to hide in. The townsfolk gave one another amused looks at his change of clothes, but otherwise treated him as normal.

The rumors never reached him about Ganons death, what with the townsfolk not talking to him. He was told by Talon himself. Yes, Talon.

Roughly a month later, he was working away at the farm, when a shadow falls across him. He looks up, and there's Talon. Beyond Talon, he can see one or two townsfolk, a cart full of Talons possessions, and that kid with the green dress. Indigo had half expected a beating – some of the townsfolk rather looked like they wanted to give him one. But it didn't happen like that. Talon told him he was taking the farm back, and Indigo could stay or go as he pleased. The townsmen watched from the sidelines silently, seeing how Indigo would take it.

Indigo had been living in a nightmare for the past month, imagining all sorts of painful deaths at the hands of Ganon. Once informed of the Rulers death, he sagged to his knee's in relief. It took him a while to sort out his emotions, but he eventually decided to stay.

All the while, the townsfolk looked on quietly.

At first, Talon had little to say to Indigo, treating him as little more than hired help, however as the months passed they patched their differences and became friends again.

It took a long time for Talon to tell him what had happened, but Indigo gathered the kid in green had given some sort of pep-talk to Talon, breaking the cycle of grief. Whatever the kid had said, it had done wonders. Talon was a new man now. Between the two of them, the farm was slowly regaining its former glory. Respect for the new Talon was slowly growing within Indigo. Gone was the man who would drink himself into a stupor every evening. Gone was the man who hid from the world and his responsibilities.

Talon was always there now, helping with the farm, helping with deliveries… and helping Malon as well. Where before, they were lost in their own seperate worlds, now Talon put aside a little time each day to spend with Malon, re-establishing their bond and helping her learn to deal with the world once more. Progress was slow, but every so often there would be some sign it was working. Malon would seem a little more attentive than usual, she wouldn't go off daydreaming for several days in a row, small things like that.

It wasn't until a year later that Talon told Indigo what the kid had said to bring him back to reality.

"I didn't have the strength to keep going for my own sake, but Link showed me my actions didn't just affect me. He told me just how much everyone around me was suffering because I couldn't pull myself together. I was just fine wallowing in my grief, but not if it leads to my daughter ruining her life too."

Indigo thought over Talons words often after that.

Ganon had told him Strength was the most important thing, and Talon still believed that, but while Ganon believed strength was the ability to do things without others help, Talons strength only came from wanting to help his daughter. Indigo had followed Ganons path – he tried to run and maintain the farm on his own, leaving Talon and Malon to find the strength to recover from their grief by themselves.

The problem with this, Indigo had come to realize, is people are social creatures, and are far stronger when helping each other. At the time Indigo had felt he couldn't do anything to ease their grief, so spent all his time helping with the farm – something he could help with. But merely the act of being there would have helped them through it eventually. It's our friends and family that make us strong, not our ability to stand apart from them.

He sometimes thought about the kid who had changed everything.

He occasionally heard rumors about the kid. He had helped one lady find some lost chickens, had helped someone else with ingredients for dinner, had helped a third with a leaking roof. It was as though he was one of those pixies, constantly helping everyone in need. It was people like that who were truly strong. People who weren't afraid to get their hands dirty helping people.

Indigo looked down at his own hands, dirty after digging new fence posts. Talon put down his spade and grinned at him. 'Giving up so early, Indigo? I thought you were stronger than that?'

Malon glanced at them curiously, then went back to currying her horses.

Indigo grinned back at Talon, and picked up his own spade again.

The two continued digging holes for the post, and Malon worked with the horses while the sun slowly set behind them.

As the two men worked in comradely silence, Indigo smiled.

It had taken a lot of hard work, but the farm was finally back on its feet.