This is my first one shot and I hope you like it. Btw, the Malon x Link parts aren't until near the end, just for your information. I recently updated the story, mainly adding on to the end. Thanks for reading.
Malon's eyes shot open at midnight. She got up and climbed out her window, silently reaching the ground. She looked at the room on the bottom floor, and it was completely dark. Good, she thought. She slunk over to the stable, the grass soft against her bare feet. As she got to the door, the horses inside started making excited noises, but she quieted them quickly. Walking inside, she lit a lantern and shuddered from the sight. Ever since Ganondorf had taken over, and Ingo had become owner of the ranch, everything had changed for the worse. Some of the horses had wounds from that disgusting whip that Ingo help. Other times, it was his pitchfork. Even others had been trampled when Ingo raced all the horses against each other. By the time Ingo let Malon tend to them, the wounds were usually swelling and infected. If not for her, many of the horses would be dead.
Malon started methodically untying the horses, one by one, each one nuzzling her with affection when she came to the stall. Every sound or misstep she made increased her heart beat. She could hear it ringing in her ears. If Ingo found her, she didn't know what he would do. After untying all the horses and making sure they weren't wearing any saddles or bridles, Malon started opening the stalls and letting the horses out. After Malon released all but one of the horses, she realized that none of them had moved an inch. Does Ingo really scare you that much? Poor things. Malon quickly realized that the horses would follow Epona, she was a kind of leader for them. She walked over the last stall. And unsaddled Epona. She whispered into Epona's ear, "Lead them all somewhere safe girl, please. I need you to leave, I can't allow Ingo to give you to Ganondorf." Epona had always seemed to understand Malon, and this time was no different. The horse gave her a quick lick on her face, and Malon forgot about being quiet for a second, laughing at the texture of Epona's sandpapery tongue. "I'm sad to see you go too Epona, but leave you must. I'll always remember your song," Malon whispered to the beautiful horse, giving Epona a brief hug. Epona whinnied and trotted off into the night, riding through the gate Malon had left open earlier that day. All the other horses followed and Malon snuffed out her lantern.
Ingo walked out of the house, wiping the sleep from his eyes and saying, "What's that racket?" His expression turned from sleepy to horrified when he saw every horse on the ranch running away. "No! How in the world did they escape?" Ingo grabbed his pitchfork and ran after them, spitting curses vehemently. This only caused the horse to run faster and Ingo didn't stop a single one from escaping. He fell to his knees, shaking in fear. Ganondorf had demanded five more horses in three days' time. How was he going to catch five of those horses by then? Then he looked at the open door of the stable. The latch hadn't been busted, it had been undone by human hands. Anger welled up inside of him. That little wench. How DARE she do this.
Malon was trying to sneak around the back of the barn when she heard Ingo scream her name. She shivered in fear, she had been found out. There was no way she could sneak back inside now. She thought about running away to Kakariko Village and finding her father, but she couldn't bear the thought of leaving all the animals in Ingo's hands. She would never be able to forgive herself for that. She set her lantern down outside, ran into the barn and hid in a corner behind a bunch of barrels of milk. She shivered from the night's chilling air as she heard Ingo searching the ranch. As first he sounded kind, as if he wasn't angry, as if the old him had come back. He had changed into a different person when Ganondorf came along. But as time passed he started yelling, threatening her with horrible things, torture, beatings, and death. He swore at her and said she had destroyed the ranch. Ganondorf's men would come looking for his horses and destroy the ranch when there weren't any. She shuddered at the thought, but she stayed strong. If I keep hiding, his anger will subside. Right? Ingo had been searching for a good half an hour now and Malon was shivering like a leaf in the wind. "If… I… stay out… here… I'll fr-fr-freeze to death. Then Ingo got to the peak of his rage, yelling, "No wonder your mother left you! Talon told me once that she couldn't bear you and your stupidity. She thought you were weak and hopeless. She decided she wouldn't waste her life away taking care of a worthless brat like you, so she left you and Talon all alone." At this point, it was all Malon could take. She started sobbing uncontrollably. Stop that, she told herself mentally, STOP. She finally got control over her emotions and the tears, stopped. Then she realized that Ingo hadn't made a comment in a long time. She looked up from her crouched position and there he was, standing with his lantern. "Boo," he said. She shrieked as he grabbed her by the collar of her dress and lifted her in the air.
"Let me go!" she screamed.
"I don't think I will, you miserable brat."
He carried her over to the cows and grabbed some fresh rawhide ropes. As he took her over the stable she struggled against him, but it was no use. He was much larger and stronger than she was. "HELP," she screamed.
Ingo just laughed, "You think anyone can hear you? Your hopeless." He walked her over to the large wooden pillar in the middle of the stable and threw her against it. A loud thump sounded as her head collided with the wood. She groaned while holding her head. Ingo took the ropes in his hand and started to tie Malon to the pillar, a little higher than she could stand. She struggled against her bonds, but the rough rope just started to cut into her skin. "Let me go Ingo. LET ME G-"Ingo cut Malon of by using the lase piece of rope as a gag. She struggled more, but the rawhide cut into her ankles and wrists.
"If only you would have obeyed me Malon. But now you'll stay here, for the rest of your life. Here you can think about what you've done to the ranch, and to me." Ingo locked the back entrance and strode out of the room. As soon as she heard the click of the lock, Malon's felt her hope leave her. Malon continued struggling for a few minutes after he left, but all it did was cause her more pain. Tears formed in her eyes. How was she going to get out of this one? Sleep eluded her for the rest of the night. All she could thing about was the old Ingo, the one who was always cracking jokes, always taking extra work so Malon could rest, and then there was that one time he had saved her from a wolf with nothing but his bare hands. What did Ganondorf do to him? she asked herself, what will Ingo do to me?
As dawn broke, a cucco sounded a wakeup call, disturbing Ingo from his slumber. He yawned and changed into his regular farm work clothes. How am I going to get those horses back? He sighed. He could taunt and beat Malon all he wanted, but it wouldn't make the horses come back. Then he had a wonderful idea, he remembered that silly song that Malon always sang. It called Epona to her side, maybe it would bring more than just one horse.
Malon's wrists and ankles hadn't healed overnight, and still caused a constant pain. Without any sleep Malon was exhausted, but the pain kept her alert. When Ingo walked in and un gagged her, Malon made a groan in protest to his coming. "Hello, my dear Malon," Ingo said, grabbing Malon's chin, "I need a favor."
Malon's response was a cold stare and a defiant "No."
"Oh, come on, don't be like this Malon. It doesn't have to be this way. I'll let you go free if you'd just sing your little song for me." Malon knew that Epona would come if she sang the song, right into the rancher's hands. She couldn't let that happen. She just slowly shook her head in response. "Don't make me do something I don't want to milk maid." There was so much hate behind that insult that it was almost tangible. Malon made a sound like a whimper and turned her head away. Ingo slapped her, saying "Look at me when I'm speaking to you."
Malon just said, "Go away, you bastard." Ingo swiftly walked out of the room, looking back at Malon before closing the door.
"We'll see how resilient you are with no water or food," Ingo said before closing and locking the door. About mid-day, Malon's exhaustion got the better of her, and she fell into a deep slumber. A dream came to her. Her Fairy Boy galloped onto the ranch, beat Ingo and freeing her. Then the two of them rode off into the sunset. When Malon awoke around midnight, she remembered her dream. How she wished her gallant hero could save her, but he been gone for seven years, too long. She feared he was gone forever. She started to weep. Oh, Fairy Boy. Don't leave me alone, she thought. She had always felt attracted to him, and trusted him. She had taught him Epona's song, a song only she knew. She never knew why she had taught him that. Were her feelings towards him love, or friendship? She sighed, he was so good looking. When she peered into his blue eyes, it was like looking at the sea. She spent the entire night thinking about him.
Link woke up, holding the Master Sword in his hand. He groaned as he sat up, immediately noticing something was off. The pedestal was shorter than he remembered. Furrowing his brow, he said, "Navi, where are you?" Navi started fluttering around his head confused. "Link! What happened?" Navi asked. "Look at yourself!" she stated excitedly. Link started examining his body and gasped, he was a teenager now. He was no longer a child. Suddenly, a light filled the room and Link found himself in another chamber. An old man stood in front of him. "Link," he said, "My name is Rauru. I am the sage of light. As a child, you were not worthy to wield the master sword, so you were put into a magical sleep for seven years. Now you are worthy enough to wield the sacred blade and defeat Ganon. Link, Ganondorf has taken over Hyrule. You must stop him, but first you must save the other six sages and awaken them. You will need their power in the final fight. Please Link, save Hyrule" The room started to shimmer and wave.
"Wait!" Link said, "Don't go!" The room shimmered out of existence and he found himself in the Temple of Time once again. "Aaaggghhh, they always leave before I can even speak. If you want me to save Hyrule, you could at least let me ask some questions before disappearing." Link looked at the sword in his hand and swung it a few times. It felt weird, being so tall. "Seven years, huh? I knew I was a late sleeper, but I think I overdid it this time Navi."
"Agreed," came a response from the glowing orb flying around him.
"Well, I'd best get going. The world isn't going to save itself. Let's go Navi." Link and Navi walked outside, and Link realizing he had lost almost all his old weapons when he tried to fight some redeads. Link just sighed and started cutting them down with the master sword. It was exceptionally light in his hand, and made quick work of the monsters.
Link walked through castle town, stepping over rubble, and looking at all the abandoned and ruined buildings. "Navi, how could I sleep so long? This is all my fault. If I had been here, I could have stopped this."
"No," Navi said, "You would have failed. Without that sword you now hold in your hand, you can't beat Ganondorf."
"But at what cost did this piece of metal come? Ganondorf has the triforce of power, Castle Town is destroyed, Zelda might be captured already, and evil monsters inhabit this world. This sword did all that. I did all of that when I pulled it out of the pedestal."
Navi sighed, if a fairy can sigh, saying, "Link, you haven't caused any of this. Ganondorf did it. You didn't want any of this to happen, and none of it was your doing. Ganondorf is the evil in this world, not you."
Link looked down at the sword in his hands, "What good is this sword if it can't save everyone in time? Everyone in Castle Town, the ranch, maybe even the other three races have been destroyed, and I couldn't stop it, because of this sword."
Navi rammed into Link's forehead as hard as she could, prompting a surprised "Ow!". "Stop being such a crybaby Link. You know it wasn't your fault, and thinking about it won't fix what happened. You can't change the past, but you can save Hyrule, you can defeat Ganon," Navi said.
Link looked up at his fairy. Navi had always been at his side, always been a faithful companion, and no matter how annoying she got, he knew she said what she thought was right. "Thanks Navi. You're right, I should be saving Hyrule, not reminiscing on the past."
Link and Navi walked over the broken bridge of the outer wall of castle town, and they entered Hyrule field. Link saw Lon Lon Ranch. It looked the same as ever, as if it was untouched by Ganondorf. Malon, oh Malon. I hope she's alright, she's so beautiful and sweet. He pictured Malon in his head, with her purple skirt swirling around her legs and her Red tunic shivering in the wind, tending to the horses as if they were her own family. He felt something rise in his heart when he thought of her. He had only felt it a few times before. Once, when he had said goodbye to Saria, and again when he met Princess Zelda. Do I, love her? He thought to himself. He thought of her again and smiled. He pulled out his Ocarina and put it to his lips. He quickly played the melody Malon had taught him seven years ago. He heard the baying of a horse and it looked as if a stampede was coming towards him. He screamed as over thirty horses galloped towards him. He braced himself for an impact, but it never followed. He slowly opened his closed eyes and saw Epona standing right in front of him. She seemed agitated and stamped the ground with her hoof. Link sensed what she wanted and leapt onto her back. Epona sped off towards the ranch, Navi barely keeping up. All the other horses stayed behind, somehow sensing that Epona didn't want them with her.
Ingo walked back into the barn, looking at Malon. Her stomach felt hollow and her throat was parched after over two days without food and water. She felt weak, as if all her strength had left her. Her eyes drooped with exhaustion. It was almost impossible to sleep the way she was bound. "Are you ready to sing your song Malon?" Malon shook her head and tried to say no but her throat was no dry it sounded more like a quiet croak. "Well, that's a shame. I really didn't want it to come to this."
Ingo took off his farmer gloves and threw them on the ground. He walked up to Malon and punched her straight in the gut. Malon made a barely audible grunt of pain. "Are you ready now, you miserable wretch? Or should I continue?" Malon was determined. She knew that she only had to hold on till tomorrow morning, when Ganondorf's men would come for the horses. She shook her head in response. "Do whatever you want with me."
Ingo sighed. If the past two and a half days had taught him anything, it was that she cared more for the animals than she did for herself. He grinned and brought a cow before Malon. He took out his whip as started whipping the cow. "No!" Malon cried hoarsely, as a small drop of blood splattered on her cheek. "Both my father's life and my life were spent raising these cows. How can you take that away? How can you destroy my father's livelihood?" Malon coughed between words, her throat almost too dry to speak. Ingo didn't respond. He just repeated the process with a second cow once the first one fell over. Malon started sobbing uncontrollably. She could remember milking these cows, every morning, for almost her entire life, and now Ingo was killing them. They wouldn't recover from these wounds, they were doomed to die.
By the time Ingo moved on to the third cow, Malon was on the verge of giving in. Suddenly, a large baying sounded outside the stable. "HAH!" Ingo yelled, "I don't even need you Malon, the horses knew to come back to their master." Then Link pushed open the stable doors and entered, his Master Sword and Hylian shield gleaming in the sunlight streaming in through windows.
When he saw Ingo standing there with a whip over a cow and Malon tied up to the post, a glint of anger showed up in his eyes. He saw the blood on Malon's face and his anger grew until he was literally growling at Ingo. Ingo dropped the whip and grabbed his pitchfork. "You!" Ingo spat, "What are you doing here. Leave before I hurt you." Ingo was obviously afraid, almost to the point of trembling. Link was real fighter and Ingo was nothing but a farmhand. Link charged Ingo in his fury, dodging all of the farmers uncoordinated blows, while making small strikes of his own. The only thing that kept the battle going on for longer than a few seconds was that Link couldn't get close due to the pitchfork. Link did a summersault under Ingo's sweep and knocked the pitchfork from his hand. Link delivered a swift kick to Ingo's crotch who howled and fell to the ground. Without thinking, Link raised his sword, prepared to finish Ingo off. "NO! DON'T!" Malon yelled, so hoarsely that Link almost didn't hear. Link couldn't stop the momentum fast enough, so he quickly pivoted his sword and slightly slashed Ingo in the leg. Ingo screamed. Link fell backwards, into on a pile of hay. "What- what was I doing?" He dropped his sword and stared at his hands.
He regained his composure and was about to cut Malon's bonds when a shadow rose out of Ingo's fallen body. Malon screamed. It had no set form, always shifting. It flew straight at Link, almost catching him off guard, but he lifted the Master Sword remembering that it drove away evil. The shadow danced away. Link fought it, dodging and swinging with ferocity, but his sword never made contact. The shadow was simply too fast for him to catch. The battle seemed to drag on for hours. Neither combatant could land a single blow. Finally, the shadow made a mistake, attacking Link when he wasn't completely vulnerable. Link pivoted his foot and jumped to the side. He held out the Master Sword. The shadow couldn't stop its momentum and ran straight into the blessed blade. It shrieked so loud Link had to drop his sword to cover his ears. Malon shrieked as the sound nearly burst her ear drums. The shadow dissipated, leaving nothing behind except a memory.
Ingo lay unconscious on the floor. Link sat on his knees, breathing heavily. He used the Master Sword to prop himself up and walked over to Malon. He slashed through her bonds, and caught her before she could fall. "Hello, fairy boy. My knight in shining armor," Malon said, with affection. Link smiled at her, "Glad I got here in time." Link took Ingo in the house, bound his wound, and laid him in bed. Malon ate and drank, suppressing her hunger and wetting her parched throat. Just before Link was going to leave Ingo, Malon walked in. He gazed at her for a few moments and said, "Thank you for stopping me Malon, I was just so angry when I saw that he was hurting you. I- I-"
"Shhhhh," Malon said, "It's over now. Everyone is safe, thanks to you." Malon had noticed his words, 'I was just so angry when I saw that he was hurting you." Malon realized that she and Link were holding hands. She blushed and her heart beat faster. Link and Malon dined together. Then both of them decided to use to last of the sunlight to fix the ranch. Other than her hunger and thirst, Malon wasn't very injured. Link could see that she was tired, but she insisted on helping him. Malon patched up the wounds on the cows, even though she thought it was hopeless.
Epona had left the ranch after dropping Link off. So Malon sang her song, while Link accompanied her on his ocarina. The melody rolled over the ranch, calming everything with Malon's familiar song. Epona galloped onto the ranch, with all the other horses following. Malon and Link hugged their favorite horse before putting all the horses in the stable for the night. The horses seemed hesitant to reenter their stalls, but they trusted Malon. As night approached, Malon became more and more tired. After Link put Epona in her stall, he turned around to find Malon fast asleep, draped over a pile of hay. He smiled, pulled the hay out of her hair, and carried her back to the house.
When Link opened the door to the house, Malon's eyes fluttered open. Seeing that Link was holding her, she tried to hide that she was awake and closed her eyes again. Link set her down, saying "You can't hide those beautiful amber eyes from me Malon." She sighed and smiled at him. They walked inside, and Link said, "Tomorrow, we can got tell Talon that he can come back to the ranch. I have a feeling Ingo will be back to his old self again soon."
"That sounds like a great idea," Malon said, "I regret not going with him every day."
"Don't beat yourself up over it Malon, you cared about the animals, and in the end, you saved them."
Malon sighed, "You always know what to say fairy boy." She looked into his sapphire eyes and grinned.
Link grinned back, "And you always know how to make me happy." They both stood in the living room. Suddenly, Link and Malon tried to hug each other at the same time. They tumbled into each other and Malon fell onto Link. "I love yo-, " they both said simultaneously. After a short pause, they realized that the feeling was mutual, and kissed passionately. They embraced each other layed in each other's arms for an hour, but it seemed like only a minute for them. Malon got to her knees, her exhaustion getting the better of her, "Why don't we get some sleep?"
"Alright," Link said, smiling, "I'll sleep on the couch."
"Oh, you must be kidding me," she grabbed his arm and pulled him up the stairs, "Your place is with me." Link and Malon fell asleep curled in each other's arms. They awoke in the morning to the sounds of angry pounds on the door of the house. "Open Up!" said a voice outside. As Malon sat up she remembered what Talon said, that Ganondorf's men would come to take the horses on Friday. "Link," she said quietly, "those are Ganondorf's men downstairs. What should be do?"
"Stay here," Link said, "This shouldn't take long." Link grabbed his sword and shield and walked downstairs. Malon heard the door open and yells calling for whoever it was to kill Link. There was fighting and screaming, and then silence. Malon heard footsteps on the stairs and Link showed his face in the door. "Everything's good now dearest, come on down."
"Don't scare me like that Link, call up next time." He only chuckled. The couple walked downstairs and ate breakfast. They laid out some food and water for Ingo, whenever he woke up. Then they got onto Epona, ready to head for Kakariko Village. Link spoke before they started to move across the vast plains of Hyrule Field, "Are you ready Malon?"
"Link, I've never been more ready in my life. Now let's go talk to Talon about our future," Malon said with a hint of excitement in her voice. She gave Link a small kiss on his cheek. Link started laughing loudly, and almost fell off Epona. "What, what's so funny Link? You better not be laughing at me," Malon said sternly.
"Oh, no. I wasn't laughing at you. I just remembered something. When I was young, your father asked me to marry you. After I responded, he told me he was just kidding. I wish he hadn't been." Link gave Epona the command to go, and they started galloping over the plains.
"We'll, what'd you say?"
"That is a man to man secret Malon. Sorry, I can't tell you."
"Hey that's not fair!"
The couple galloped off into the morning, bickering, straight towards the sunrise.
Hello, few things to say about my first one-shot, and my first romance. First, sorry that is wasn't more serious, dark, or exciting. It felt corny having Ingo torture the animals to get to Malon, but I felt uncomfortable writing that part any other way. Also, this is my first-time writing "fluff" (at least I think that's what it's called) so it may not be very good. If you read this far, PLEASE leave a review. I always like feedback, whether good or bad.