The Rancher's Daughter's Husband
Hitomi Hyuga
In her opinion, nothing could compare to mornings on the ranch. She was always the first one awake in the wee hours of the dawn, before the sun peeked over the horizon, simply to enjoy the calmness before the world begins to wake up and start the day. Before doing her morning chores, she often spent a little time just sitting at her bedroom window admiring the red sky; as the sun began to rise, she would bundle up and venture into the crisp air and dew-speckled grass of the pastures as she brought the horses out to graze. Upon her return to the farmhouse, her father would stir and soon be expecting his breakfast, which she would gladly prepare for him and the farmhand before beginning the day's real work.
On this particular morning, however, she hosted a special guest who was not stirring at all, even after breakfast was finished and the men were beginning their chores.
She looked on him endearingly. He's not used to waking up so early, she observed, brushing a strand of blond hair out of his eyes. A smile crept onto his lips in his sleep and he rolled over, pulling the quilt with him.
"Come on now, it's time to get up," she whispered, gently shaking him. Her guest grunted and yanked the quilt over his head. "I know you're awake, Link, you're an awful faker." With another defiant grunt, he tightened his grip on the covers and refused to let go. Not to be defeated, she tugged as hard as she could on the blanket and dragged it, along with the sleeping body within, onto the floor with a loud thud.
"Augh, alright! I'm up, I'm up!" The blanketed bundle unraveled itself, revealing a mop of tousled blond hair and a chiseled bare torso. "Sheesh, Malon, what's a guy gotta do to get a little sleep around here?"
"I think you've had enough sleep for one morning," said Malon, a look of smug satisfaction on her face. "Get dressed; it's time to work."
"Aww, already? Can't I get a little breakfast first? I can smell it downstairs…"
"There's some bread and cheese left; you can have two pieces if you hurry. We mustn't fall behind."
Link huffed and pulled on the work clothes he had been given (a few sizes too big, courtesy of Talon). "You go on ahead of me, I'll catch up."
Malon put her hands on her hips, giving him a stern look. "Are you sure? You're not going to disappear, right?"
"Nah," he answered with a grin. "I don't wanna put you too far behind, so I'll come out as soon as I finish eating."
"Promise?"
He pulled his shirt over his head and met her lips with a gentle peck. "Promise." She smiled softly and left the room to go begin her own work. Somehow she knew he'd follow through on his promise.
"There he is!" said Talon. "Get on out here, boy, yer late!"
Link rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that, sir." Malon, who'd been brushing his beloved mount, Epona, hid her giggles behind the horse's snowy mane.
"I'll forgive ya, but ya gotta earn it," he said with a hearty laugh. "Here, I'll give ya something easy to start. There's a big pile of hay in the back of the barn, I want ya to pitch some into the cows' pens. Think ya can handle that?" He tossed Link a pitchfork, almost catching the younger boy off guard.
"Yeah, I think I can do it," he said. He slung the pitchfork over his shoulder and walked away with a confident swagger in his gait. Malon shook her head, amused.
"Hey Malon, don't ya think it's time for milking right about now?" said Talon, nudging his daughter.
"You want me to keep an eye on him?"
"Just in case he needs someone to show him how it's done," he said with a wink. Malon nodded and went to go get the milk pails from the toolshed. "Just don't be canoodlin' in there!"
"Don't worry Dad, chores come first!" she called. I'm sure Link won't have any trouble anyway.
As luck would have it, as soon as Malon entered the barn, she immediately erased the thought from her mind.
Link poked his head from around the pile of hay. "Hey Malon!" He disappeared behind the pile and big clump of hay went sailing halfway across the barn. Straws were strewn all across the barn; at least half of the pitches did not make their mark. He did, however, make his target a few times; in fact, there was an abundance of hay in all of the nearby stalls.
"What in the world have you done!?" cried Malon, mouth agape.
"I'm pitching hay, like your dad told me," said Link, sending another tuft of hay flying into the middle of the floor. "I think I'm doing a pretty good j-," He stopped as he peeked over the pile to look at her, noticing for the first time his handiwork. "Oh…"
Malon was speechless.
"Malon, I'm so sorry," said Link frantically. "I-I'll pick it all up as best I can, please don't be mad." He grabbed her hand. "Please, please, please don't be mad…"
Before he could plead for forgiveness any more, Malon's dam burst and loud, hearty laughter filled the whole room. She doubled over, clutching her middle with tears forming in her eyes.
"Link, you do beat all," she said cheerfully. "But next time, I'd suggest you use this more like a pitchfork and less like a shovel!"
Link's face reddened. "I guess I could've looked where I was tossing it…"
"It's okay, we can clean it up in a jiffy! Grab a broom and get to sweeping while I...adjust your handiwork here." Link darted out of the barn and toward the house to get the broom while Malon began taking the excess hay out of the closer stalls.
"Betcha thought you were getting extra today, huh girl?" The cow in the stall blinked at her with its big brown eyes. "Sorry, not today. He's probably learned his lesson by now." About that time, Link burst through the door with the broom and immediately got to work, face still red as a beet. Malon grinned as he made quick work of the straw on the floor, which was swiftly swept back into the pile.
He's a little inexperienced, but he's certainly got a good work ethic. Something I love about him.
Sometime later, once the cows were milked, the eggs collected, the house swept, and the sewing done, Malon returned to the pasture to check on Link, who had been placed with the duty of moving the last of the filled milk crates into the icehouse in preparation for delivery. Fortunately, it seemed that nothing had been broken in the few hours or so she'd been busy.
"He may not be much of a hay baler, but boy if he don't make a good workhorse!" chuckled Talon. "Maybe in time he'll learn how to carry milk pails!"
Link grinned sheepishly. "It's my first day, gimme a break."
"Soon I bet ya can help me fix the wagon!" said Talon, patting the canvas cover. "Gotta have it all purtied up for the deliveries tomorrow mornin'!"
"Well you'll have plenty of time to fix it up after supper," said Malon. "It's almost ready, so go wash up!"
"Never thought I'd see the day when li'l Malon was bossin' me around. Just like her mother!" Talon clapped Link on the shoulder and the two started toward the house. As she watched them go, Malon's heart warmed at the camaraderie the two shared. Ingo followed after them, laughing and joking along the way.
So much had changed in the last few years following reconstruction after the war against the Evil King. They almost had the ranch taken away from them, many of the prized horses had been lost to enemy troops, and the trust of the loyal farmhand Ingo had been lost and gained again. Worst of all, she spent many hours awake at night, worrying about the fate of the fairy boy she'd fallen in love with when they were very young.
Strangely, though, she wouldn't trade the outcome of all the hardship for all the riches in the world.
"Man, what a day," said Link, feeding Epona a nice helping of carrots. It was sunset now, and the two spent their idle hours in the pastures with the horses. "I don't think I've worked this hard in my entire life."
"It shows," said Malon, whose teasing jab was met with a pseudo-sad glance.
"Sheesh, a guy messes up a barn one time and suddenly he's labelled for life. I'm hurt." He put a hand to his chest melodramatically, making her giggle.
"I think Dad overestimated you; tomorrow I think I'll have you clean the scat out of the cucco pen." She wasn't expecting the mischievous look that came over his face.
"I'll show you who's gonna be cleaning scat tomorrow!" She ran, Link hot on her heels. He was much faster than her and quickly overtook her, grabbing her around the waist. She squealed, feeling his hands creep to her waist and tickle her.
"Let go!" she cried, giggling all the while.
"Say I'm not cleaning scat! Say it!" He tightened his grip and began to spin her around.
"Okay, okay! You win!" He gently pulled her to the ground with him, landing in a patch of tall, soft grass. Their bodies were entangled, and they were nothing more than an out-of-breath, laughing bundle.
"Hey, I'm sorry about today," he said, looking down. "I didn't mean to cause you any trouble, really I didn't."
"Link, it's okay," she said, pulling his chin up so his eyes met hers. "It was nothing; just a little clutter is all."
"I promise I'll get better! I'll feed the cows tomorrow without making a mess of it!"
"I've got a better idea," said Malon. "Why don't you come with me to take the milk into town? It'll be a nice trip with both of us going."
Link's face lit up and he embraced her in a bear hug. "You mean it? That'd be great!"
"Just promise not to fall asleep like Dad does," she said with a smug grin.
"How could I? We'd better get to bed early if we're gonna be travelling tomorrow. Let's go!" Without warning, he grabbed her by the wrist and all but dragged her back to the house with him. True to his word, Link was asleep within five minutes of lying under the covers, out cold like he had been that morning.
She smiled and stroked his cheek, being lost for words at how much she cared for him.
"Malon! Wake up, sleepy head!"
It was an unusual sight, Link dressed in his green tunic before the sun even rose. "Get up, it's time to go!"
"Link…it's not even daybreak yet, we've got plenty of time before we have to leave."
"But if we leave now, we can watch the sunrise as we ride!" Malon paused; she didn't have an argument against that. With that, she began to dress herself as Link went out to hitch up the wagon. Within a few minutes' time, the milk was loaded up and ready to go, Link sitting in the driver's seat practically bouncing with excitement. "Let's go!"
"Okay, okay, we're ready now!" Malon climbed up next to him, took the reins, and they were off. Link slipped his hand into hers, the smile never fading from his face. It spread onto Malon's face as she nuzzled against his shoulder, taking in the crisp, cool air and the beautiful morning sky.
"I love you, Link."
"I love you too."
Fin.
Happy Birthday Hoshibun! Hope you enjoy your present!
The title's kinda crap (I was at a loss and all I could think of was The Coal Miner's Daughter. Ho hum), but I hope you enjoy it!
Special thanks to deviantART's marthlovesroy for letting me use their artwork as the cover!
-H. H.