A Song So Haunting
He sat there staring out across Hyrule Field, studying its rolling hills. A wind blew across his cheek and he shuddered at it. His eyes ran along the horizon to see the sun setting in a pool of red and orange color. He could see deep blue edging in around the landscape, twilight was coming. That time of day used to make him feel uneasy, restless. It was an in-between time, not quite day, not quite night. The uncertainty of it used to set his nerves of edge. Now he accepted it as simply another hour or so that would pass. Now it was merely a prelude of a far stranger time to come. Twilight was now the beginning of something more haunting.
The sun sank lower and the sky darkened like a bruise. The wind blew again. It mussed his hair and carried something with it to his ears. A noise faint but familiar. He knew that if he listened just hard enough he would be able to make out a song, a wordless tune. He raised his head, turning to see if he could pinpoint the source of it. As always, he didn't. There was no one on the field except for him and Epona. No one else was around to make that sound. Link exhaled through his nose in frustration. This was becoming ridiculous. He had heard this same song for nights on end ever since he'd left his small village of Ordon. Every night he never could find anyone who sang it. He had asked the fortune teller in Castle Town once, but she seemed reluctant to speak about and had only muttered something about ill luck. He'd written it off as superstition on her part and carried on with his day. This time he couldn't let it go. He was the Hero of Legend. He had slain a dragon, a giant spider, and the Dark King himself. He shouldn't be afraid of some child's melody, and yet, something about it made him hesitate.
He stood. The song grew stronger, making his feet falter. Night was spreading her cloak and with that the song was becoming more powerful. It went from a whisper to a howl. Link didn't need to know the words to it to understand the message it was carrying. I am alone, it said, come, find me.
"I will," he said more to himself than the source of the noise.
The hero mounted Epona without another thought, driving his heels into her flanks as he urged her on over the plane. The wind whipped his face as he leaned down into the saddle. The moon and stars set everything in stark contrasts that melted and blurred as Epona raced past them. Link's hands only clutched the reins to hold on. There was no need to guide or direct her. She seemed to know internally somehow from where the song sprang. His heart leapt in his chest as she hurdled over the ruin of an old stone wall effortlessly. A force was pressing down on his back and shoulders, driving him in the same direction as his horse. Out there in the night somewhere was the answer to this mystery. He could feel it in his blood, his bones, his heart. It felt so right to be riding this way like a compass finding true North.
What could have been seconds or days later, he found himself in the Faron province. He and Epona had galloped miles and barely noticed it. He rode across the wooden bridge and dismounted in front of the mound that rose from the ground. He paced a circle around it, his eyes searching for some kind of clue. Fingers wandering over the moss covered stone of the hill, he realized there was something odd about it. It didn't feel as rough as it should. The stone surface was too even and smooth to be natural. He scratched away some of the moss with a finger nail and uncovered grooves running vertically and horizontally. The stones had been quarried and cut into squares like the foundation of a house.
Link stood then, wary of his surroundings. The place had always been creepy, but this was just weird.
A twig snapped and he spun on his heel, sword half way of the scabbard by the time he turned to face his would be attacker. He slid the sword back into its sheath when he saw the cause of the sound. A girl stood in front of him with one hand on the stone beside them and one pressed shyly to her chest.
"You," she said and made the word sound relieved and accusing at the same time.
"Who are you?" he asked. He studied her body language. She swayed gently on her feet to only music she could hear. Her hair was the brightest shade of red he'd ever seen barring Midna's. It was as red as a summer cherry and fell freely to her waist.
"I'm your friend, fairy boy," she answered, laughing at his ignorance.
He shook his head. "I'm sorry I think you have me mistaken for someone else. I've never had a fairy. I've never even seen one."
"Oh," she whispered. She bowed her head and looked at him from under her bangs, blue eyes shining with sorrow. "I see. Sometimes I forget."
"Forget what?"
"You look just like him," she said, stepping towards him. "Same hair. Same eyes. Even the same stupid hat." She leaned in until her face was inches from his. His heart sped up again as his gaze met hers. She was beautiful, and he had the sudden urge to kiss her.
"I really have no idea who you're talking about," he breathed.
"The Hero of Time, of course." She spun away from him, her skirts swirling out around her.
"B-but he's dead," the hero answered, a chill entering his heart. "He's been dead for decades. There's no way. Unless. . ."
"My name's Malon." She smiled at him sweetly. "And this was once my home, Lon Lon Ranch." Her fingers caressed the stones longingly and her gaze grew distant.
"You're the one who sings the song every night? You're the one who brought me here?"
"I knew you'd come. I've been waiting so long, but I kept my promise. You're here now." She spun away from him and looked at him flirtatiously over her shoulder. Without a second thought, his feet moved and he followed her.
He chased after her without tiring as she danced across the gentle hills of Hyrule Field under the silver veil of moonlight. She laughed at him as he tried to catch up to her, his fingers reaching out to brush a strand of red hair or the rough cotton of her skirt. A silly grin crossed his face as her fingers caressed the side of his cheek. His hand sought to grasp hers but she only laughed and stepped out of reach again. The entire time she sang with that hauntingly beautiful voice.
Then her spell unraveled for just long enough that he could gather his senses together to ask her a question. "You said something about keeping a promise. What did you mean?"
The singing stopped, and she stared at him with sad eyes. She took a step forward towards him. Unconsciously, he ran his fingers through her hair. "I loved the Hero of Time. And I thought he loved me. One day he left, and said he would come back. I told him I would wait for him, and I did until I could wait no longer. And yet, I am still here. He never returned, but he promised he would. And I promised that I would wait for him, and so I kept my promise."
"That's very sad," Link breathed as he leaned into her, nuzzling her cheek with his. "Why did he never return?"
"I don't know. I just know that he never came. I've been alone for so long."
"You must be so lonely."
"I am," she said in a tempting voice. "You could join me. You are him. I can feel it, and so can you. You're him returned to me. This was meant to be."
"You're dead aren't you?" he said in sudden realization. Despite, this rather alarming fact, he found that he didn't care. He knew he should, but he just couldn't. Her eyes wouldn't let him look at anything but her. He could drown in them and die happily.
"My body is gone from this world, but I am still here."
"How do I join you?" he said licking his lips in anticipation.
"Kiss me," she said.
He did and as he lips pressed hers they felt impossibly cold. Her mouth against his was like winter, all ice and snow. Her skin that had once seemed solid now felt thin and weak. He thought that maybe if he just pressed his fingers a little harder against her cheek they would go right through it. Slowly he realized that his own flesh was weakening. The strength from his limbs was draining, and he was seized with fear. He tried to pull away from her, but he couldn't move. His lips remained locked against hers.
The horrified thoughts in his mind slowed and dimmed until they moved sluggishly. The fear abated and the pleasure returned. This was where he was meant to be. He was meant to be with her like he'd promised all those years ago. He was here now, and they could be together forever like they were supposed to be. He could feel his heart beat weakly in his chest. It seemed so frail and inconsequential. The physical heart fades and dies, but it is the emotional one that lives on for eternity. It was the emotional heart that kept Malon tied to this spot waiting for him, and it was the emotional heart that had brought him back to her.
Unexpectedly, his knees buckled beneath him. His heart stuttered inside his chest as he started to fall to the ground. A hand as insubstantial as air cradled his head and laid him gently on the earth. He blinked slowly as Malon hovered above him. The moonlight was falling straight through her now onto his face. She smiled down at him with eyes as blue as the sky above him.
"Do not be afraid," she crooned in that hypnotic voice.
"What. . " he tried to speak but found his voice gone.
"Now we can be together forever." She leaned down and placed a kiss on his lips. He tried to reach for her face one last time but as he did his heart stopped and his arm fell uselessly to his side. The air in his lungs escaped in one final shallow breath, and then Link closed his eyes forever.
Has anyone ever noticed that the music out in Hyrule Field in Twilight Princess sounds a lot like Malon's singing in Ocarina of Time? That was the inspiration for this. Feedback, reviews, and critiques would all be very much appreciated.