Malon smiled as she watched Link jump the fences. He was good- almost as good as she was. She had since beaten his record, and now he was trying to beat hers' again. His green hat waved in the wind, but never fell off. She often teased him that he kept it on with glue. He just smiled. He wasn't big on talking, but it was one of the things that attracted her.
His eyes caught on hers as he slowed the horse down. She blushed and resumed her sweeping, head staring at the ground until she felt her cheeks cool down. When she lifted her head up again, Link wasn't in the riding circle anymore- he was a few feet away, walking near her. She put her broom down, and smiled.
"Hey Fairy Boy! Nice riding!" She called
He nodded.
"Did you beat the record?"
He shook his head no.
She smiled sweetly, "That's okay. You might do it someday… maybe." She teased.
He smiled, and brushed past her, his arm slightly brushing against hers. Malon felt her heart do an excited back-flip at the touch, which she hoped was on purpose. She felt like screaming for joy, but instead, she picked up her broom, and continued sweeping.
Malon saddled her horse, Mariem, and gently put the bridle on her. She patted her head, and then hoisted herself onto the horse. She took the reins, and started at a slow pace. When she got out into Hyrule Field, she rode past Castle Town, headed for Lake Hylia.
As she rode, the thought of Link's touch came back to her. She shivered at his name in her head. As she rode, she smiled at her happiness. The wind was in her hair, she was on her horse, and her crush was on the brain.
Malon arrived at Lake Hylia, and smiled at the beauty. The sun made the water sparkle, and it was almost blinding. Malon tied her horse to a fence, and sat by the shore. She put her feet in the water, and giggled at the tickle.
She noticed something sparkling out on the platform. It continued to sparkle, and after 7 minutes, Malon couldn't contain herself. She pulled off her dress to reveal a light t-shirt and shorts. She contemplated whether she should walk on the rope bridge, and then jump into the water, or just swim there from where she was.
"Hm… I could use the exercise," Malon said out loud. She waded into the warm lake, took a deep breath, and plunged in, careful to keep her head above water. Malon hated being underwater. It was okay with a mask that covered her nose and eyes, but if she didn't have one of those, she refused to go under.
Malon swam fast, pushing herself to her limit. Half-way there, she stopped to tread water. She was tired, and she wasn't used to swimming. As she floated there, something tickled her feet. She looked down into the water, but couldn't see anything. "Hm…" She pondered out loud.
Suddenly, something grabbed her leg, and pulled her below the water. She screamed as she went down, and was still screaming under the water. She choked, and started to violently kick her legs, and tried to swim, flailing her arms. But instead of warding it off, two- hands?- grabbed her waist, and pulled her down farther. She felt someone slide something over her face, a mask of sorts, and suddenly, she could see clearly. She breathed out slowly, and was shocked to be able to breathe freely.
Malon realized there was nothing holding her anymore. She looked around, but there was no one.
She realized where she was. She was underwater without a mask. Blank fear swallowed her mind, and she started to fight for the surface, ignoring that she could breathe and see clearly.
But the thing came back. It wasn't a Zora; it had a human body. But it had blue skin… Make that clothes… Malon thought. Suddenly, the thing was face to face with her. Malon was shocked.
It was Link!
Malon tried to talk, but the mask restrained her. Link put a finger to his lips, and held out his hand. Malon tentatively placed her own in his, and he smiled. He began to swim down, and pulled her along. She decided to make it easier for him, and started kicking along.
Suddenly, they stopped, just above the floor of the lake. Link covered her eyes, and she didn't protest. When he took his hand away, he had a pair of boots with metal on the bottom. He handed her the right shoe, and then quickly put his left shoe on. He was pulled down to the bottom of the lake, although he seemed a little awkward, one leg settled on the bottom, while the other was floating a little above the other.
Malon followed suit, and was instantly sucked down onto the bottom of the lake. She felt all distorted, and the boots were awkward. But Link then put his arm around her, and placed her arm around him. She understood, and together, they began to walk together on the floor of the lake.
Link took her to a square hole in the lake, and crawled through it. With her hand on his ankle, she dragged herself through it too, wondering where they were going.
They emerged into more water, and Link started taking the boot off. Malon did the same, and slowly floated up to the top. Her eyes fell on a ladder leading up to a long platform. She started to swim to it, but Link grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the cascading waterfall. She gasped as they swam directly under it, and was even more surprised to find a small landing behind it.
Link hoisted himself onto the platform, and then helped Malon up. He put both hands on her shoulders to steady her, and she sat on her knees. He leaned toward her face, his hands outstretched…
Oh my goodness! This is it! He's going to… Malon's thoughts flew at 100 miles per hour.
But he didn't kiss her. He instead took the mask off of her face, and gently folded it. Malon rubbed her cheeks, surprised they were dry.
"Thanks for giving me that, Fairy Boy. But I have one question… Why did you pull me down here in the first place?!" Malon stated, a little irritated (not at him of course, but at herself for thinking such ridiculous thoughts. It was obvious he only liked her as a friend).
Link shrugged, and then reached behind him and grabbed something. Expertly aiming, Link hit the light post with his fire arrows. The dimly-lit space was now filled with warm, yellow light. Malon smiled, but still remained on her side of the lamp-post, nearest to the water.
"So. Why have you kidnapped me, and taken me here?" She shivered at the last word, as she was pretty cold. It was only May, and the place she was at was colder than the Lake.
Instead of giving her some sort of bodily gesture that would clear it up, or pointing at something, Link just leaned forward, and peered at her eyes. Malon felt her cheeks grow hot, and was sure her face was as red as her hair. Link leaned back, and patted the ground beside him. She furrowed her eyebrows, and said, shivering, "What?"
He beckoned for her to come close to him, and patted the ground next to him.
"Uh… okay, Fairy Boy." She crawled over to him, and sat next to him. He wrapped both arms around her, and she instantly stopped shivering. Instead, she sat very, very still, and was very, very confused.
After 5 minutes (which felt like 5 seconds, and yet, 5 hours to Malon), Link let go. Malon wasn't cold anymore; she was actually sweating from nervousness.
After sitting still and silent for 3 minutes, Malon finally spoke up.
"Link… w-why did you do that?"
He shrugged. Navi suddenly came out of his hat, knocking it off, and quipped, "You were cold! He doesn't like people to be unhappy. Especially people like you."
Malon almost didn't hear Navi. She was captivated by Link without his hat off. So it can come off… she thought, almost dreamily. His hair…
"Malon? Didja hear me?"
Malon was knocked out of her thoughts. "Oh? People like me?" She diverted her attention to Navi. "People like me? What?"
Navi just giggled as Link tried to bat her out of the air. "Oh… you know. People who are… special," she said, sneakily.
Malon stared at Link, who, instead of being flustered, just shrugged, and then held out his hand, as if saying, "So? Do you like me too?"
Malon placed her hand in his and smiled. "We can try this, if my dad's okay with it." She honestly didn't care if her dad was okay with it or not; she was really, really happy with her Link.