Malon's Journal

It was supposed to be a routine delivery to Hyrule Castle. My father, Talon, would drop off the milk at the castle and then we would be on our way home. I, however, knew my father better than that and I had come prepared with a few meals and a few blankets, just in case. Father had a nasty habit of being lazy and falling asleep at the most inopportune times. Regardless of being my father, he was rarely responsible.

Myself, I was a short little girl back then, about nine or ten years, with soft red hair that reached my waist and people said I had the cutest blue eyes. I remember I wore a white dress with blue angular borders and an orange bandana that was tied together with a dragon brooch. Since I was a farm girl, I wore boots, too. They weren't as cute as me.

That is why I was not surprised when, after two hours, I was still waiting by the well in the middle of Hyrule Castle Town Market. I stood there, bouncing on my heals and humming to myself as patiently as I could. Then I was approached by a strange blonde boy dressed in a green tunic that was fastened around the middle by a belt, a green cap, leather boots, a sword in sheathe held on to his back by a belt going diagonally down from his left shoulder down to his hip, and a battered wooden shield. His hair was long, but only his bangs were visible and they were grown out to the sides. His hair brushed his cheeks. He had intense dark blue eyes and they were now resting on me. My first thought, He's cute!

"You're not from these parts are you?" I inquired from the strange boy.

Taking a few minutes, the boy explained to me that he was from the forest and that he was sent to the castle on a mission from the Great Deku Tree—whatever that was! A lot of it I did not understand at the time. After all, I had only just met him and I had no idea what was about to happen in Hyrule.

I thought for a moment and then said, "Oh, I see! So you're a fairy boy from the forest. Well, I hope you get into the castle all right." Just as the boy was about to leave, I remembered my father and called out to him, "Wait a moment!" Digging in my pouch, I pulled out an egg and gave it to the forest boy. "This egg will hatch next morning. My papa is probably off somewhere napping, if you find him, be sure to wake him and send him off."

Looking less than confident, the boy took the chicken egg and wandered out of town. I watched him and sighed, wondering how much longer I would be stuck in this town. I really just wanted to get back to the ranch so I could sing to the horses.

Afternoon quickly faded into dusk and I found myself in a stone corner of the square. I covered myself in the blankets that I brought along and I took out some food that would be my dinner. As I nibbled on some bread, I looked up at the stars and thought about the boy. Looking back, it makes me realize now how ignorant I was. My biggest concern were my horses and that was it. I envy that attitude!

"He won't get to the castle until morning anyway," I estimated and sighed once more.

Morning finally came. I had only slept a little bit. It was hard to sleep outside in a town. You never knew who might be waiting for you to fall asleep. A few times during the night, I had gotten up and sang a little. I loved to sing my mother's song and I still do.

I was just gathering my things together when I heard a disturbance coming from the northern entrance into the town: the path that led to the castle. Just then a large, round man came zooming into the town. He was balding with dark brown hair, nearly the entire top of his head was bald—except for a few long strands—but the bottom of his head was still full. The comical man had dark blue eyes, and a large round nose. Dressed in a pair of large overalls, a red flannel shirt, and work boots, he was more than enough to attract attention without acting like a loon. It was my father, Talon.

Stomping over, I pointed up at him and scolded, "You fell asleep again didn't you? You left me to sleep out her on the streets, you know!"

The large man cowered in fear. It was a strange sight for those around us. It was quite odd to see a little girl scolding a grown man—and such a large one, too! That was the norm for us, though. I always had to scold him because he was always off lazing around somewhere.

It was a long ride back to Lon Lon Ranch in my father's wagon. My mind wandered back to the forest boy and I wondered whether or not I would meet him again. It turned out that I did not have to wait very long.

About three days later, I was taking a break from my chores to do a bit of singing in the horse's pen. I loved the horses and they all loved it when I sang my mother's song. Singing at that moment, I was patting a pony beside me when I was suddenly interrupted by approaching footsteps. Looking up, I saw it was the forest boy.

"Hello, fairy boy," I greeted him and continued, "Thanks for waking up Papa the other day. He's always doing things like that. How irresponsible!" There was a bit of a fire at the end of that last sentence that made the boy recoil a bit. "I'd like to introduce you to someone. She's Epona—this horse!" I gestured to the pony at my side.

Epona stepped backward, unsure about the boy. I remember giggling at the horse and then I looked gently at the boy. "I know a secret. I'll teach you my mother's song!"

At the mention of a song, the boy took out a brown ocarina. Gasping, I commented, "Cute ocarina! You're going to play along with my song?"

And so, I did, and I taught the boy my mother's song. He named it "Epona's Song." I found the name to be fitting because he used it to stop Epona from being frightened of him. After concluding the song, Epona approached the boy and nuzzled her nose against his cheek. I was relieved that teaching him the song worked.

"Oh, Epona," I said with a giggle, "She's grown fond of you, fairy boy."

After the forest boy left later that day, it would be years until I would see him again. Seven years, to be precise. It would be a shame that we would meet again under such dark circumstances. Just a year after our parting, a dark man named Ganondorf had taken over Hyrule and titled himself the Evil King. Two years before our reunion, my father had been thrown out of his own ranch, under the order of the Evil King, and it had been taken over by the ambitious and ignored Ingo. Ingo had been doing all the work while Talon slept all day and he had enough of it. While I understood his frustrations, he took things way too far!

Whether it was destiny or just chance, I'm not sure, but one day out of the blue a handsome young man, who looked familiar to me, wandered into the ranch. I was amazed while watching him. Somehow, he was able to tame Epona and use her to out-race and out-bet the cunning Ingo. The deal was that if this young man could beat Ingo, than Ingo would give him the horse he was using. What Ingo did not know was that the young man had been using his prized horse. Only, she would have been if she would let someone ride her. Thinking Ingo still had the better of the young man, he entrapped him within the ranch, but he simply jumped the ranch's fence and disappeared.

The next morning, Ingo was suddenly doing all of my chores. I walked into the barn and approached him. I was so shocked that I was shaking.

"S-S-Sir?" I asked with a wince. It was because after Ingo had taken over, he had treated me much like a slave and even hurt me when I did not listen or did something wrong. I very much disliked working under his supervision!

Turning around, Ingo smiled at me and said, "Oh, don't worry about your chores, Miss Malon, I have already taken care of them! Why don't you go off and do that delightful singing you love to do?"

I could not believe my ears. Ingo had hated my singing after he threw my father out! Doubtful, I asked him, "Mr. Ingo? Are you feeling okay?"

"Never better! After that boy stole Epona, I felt a strange darkness being lifted off my heart. I haven't felt so great in years!" Ingo explained and then gave a hearty laugh.

Smiling, I commented, "So that's what it was… That's wonderful, Mr. Ingo!"

Holding up his hand, Ingo continued, "It gets better, Miss. Your father, Mr. Talon, is finally coming home! I heard word from the postman this morning that the boy contacted Mr. Talon in Kakariko Village and sent him on his way."

My eyes were dancing with excitement. Hearing horse hooves, I dashed out of the barn and saw the green-garbed young man on Epona. He jumped off and greeted me with a smile.

"I don't know what you did or how you did it, but after you took Epona the other day, Mr. Ingo returned back to his gentle, happy self. Not only that, but my father is finally returning home!" I said excitedly, gazing up at him with warm eyes. "It's like everything is suddenly turning back to how it used to be. A shadow has been lifted from our ranch! Thank you! Thank you!"

The young man rubbed the back of his head with embarrassment, it was almost like he was not sure how it happened, either. Suddenly, I remembered and said, "You're the fairy boy from way back, aren't you?"

He nodded. For some reason, he seemed happy that I remembered him. I was glad too.

"I thought so, but I wasn't sure," I quickly added, "You see, Epona remembered you and that's why she let you ride her. It was amazing! I think I speak for my father when I say that you'll be for ever welcomed here, fairy boy."

Would you believe it? That same fairy boy went on to awaken the Six Sages and thwart the Evil King. I was sure surprised, but I wasn't shocked at all. After seeing his bravery and his ability to bring light back to Lon Lon Ranch, I know that only he could have done such a thing.

After that, I sadly never saw him again. If there were some way, I would like to, but I hear he left and went far away. That makes me very sad.

Malon