Worth the Sacrifice
Hyrule. A peaceful land ruled by a fair King. Or at least, that's how it used to be. For some time now, Darkness has been stirring and the peace and quiet have been disturbed by a strange Evil that's been showing up in various places. Although it is not yet apparent, soon everything will change in this beautiful land. The main catalysts of these changes however, have been blissfully unaware until it was their time to find out. And now, that time has finally come...
Chapter 1: Fairy Boy
Link stood in the bright sunlight and looked around in awe. This was his first time out of the forest and he was determined to see as many things as possible while he was on his quest to reach Princess Zelda. He started walking and turned to the fairy flying next to him.
"So how far is it to Hyrule Castle?" he asked.
"It shouldn't be too far...I guess a couple of hours walking," Navi answered.
Link sighed and started to walk. While he was glad to be out of the forest, he didn't enjoy walking all that much and decided that if he found another way of transportation he'd take it. For now, though, he'd have to put up with walking. He had never walked this much in his entire life. The Kokiri Forest wasn't all that big and now he basically had to walk to the other side of the country.
After about two hours of walking Link noticed a ranch. He wondered why a ranch would be here in the middle of nowhere, so he asked Navi.
"I'm not sure...I believe this ranch is at the center of Hyrule Field, so I guess we're about halfway to the castle. We're making good progress."
Link sighed. He had enough of walking already and now it appeared he had to go on for two more hours. He started walking again and contemplated his situation. Three days ago, Navi had first come to him and told him the Great Deku Tree needed his assistance. So Link, who had been plagued by nightmares since several days before that, had grabbed the hidden Kokiri Sword, bought a shield and rushed to the Great Deku Tree to free it of its curse.
After staying in the Tree for nearly three days he had managed to break the curse, and it was then the great Deku Tree had told him to find Princess Zelda and stop the evil man from the desert who had cursed the Deku Tree.
Two more hours later, he finally reached the city gates and entered the Market. There were so many people there that Link was stunned at first.
Navi, too, seemed impressed. "Look at all these people," she whispered.
"Yeah...I never knew so little room could contain so many people," Link muttered back.
He started to move forward and forced himself through the immense crowd that was blocking his path. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally reached the other side of the market.
"Damn, I could hardly breathe in there," Link muttered as he stood, panting, now at the correct side of the wall of people he had just pushed through.
"Really? I had no trouble at all," Navi said, her voice playful.
Link shot her a semi-angry look and said, "Next time you make a remark like that I'm going to bottle you, you hear me?"
Navi chuckled and flew up a bit. "Too bad you're so short, then," she said.
Link tried to come up with a nasty comeback, but when he couldn't think of something he just said, "I'll get you sometime..."
"Yeah right. And that's the guy who has the most important task in Hyrule. Godesses help us," Navi mocked.
Link ignored her and walked towards the gate of the Market, which led to the Castle. As he approached, he noticed a girl about his age standing there, looking bored and slightly annoyed. Relieved to see someone of his own age, Link approached her.
The girl noticed him and said, "Hi. Are you going to the Castle?"
Link nodded, but Navi spoke before he could. "We're going to see Princess Zelda. It's about some man from the desert."
The girl looked at Navi and her eyes widened.
She looked back at Link said, "Wow, are you a fairy boy from the forest? I've never met one before! My name's Malon, by the way."
Link shot a glance at Navi, who shrugged by flying up and down a little. "My name's Link, and yeah, I'm from the forest. That's Navi," he added and pointed at her. "So, what are you doing here? Are you going to the Castle as well?" Link asked.
Malon shook her head and looked annoyed again. "I'm here with my dad. He's delivering milk at the Castle but he hasn't come back yet. I guess he fell asleep again," she said and rolled her eyes.
Link stared at her and said, "He falls asleep while making a delivery? I can't imagine that."
Malon sighed and glanced at the clock on the tower of the Temple of Time. "I've been here since noon. My dad's been in there for about four hours, do you really think it'd take him four hours to deliver a few crates of milk?" She shook her head again and this time Link noticed the way the sunlight reflected off her cherry-colored hair. "I'm sure he just fell asleep somewhere; he does that all the time. Hey, if you happen to see him can you wake him up for me, please? I'd like to get back home before dark," Malon said, looking at Link almost pleadingly.
Link nodded and said, "Sure. Why don't you just come with me?"
Malon tilted her head and said, "You've never been here before, have you? Kids aren't allowed to go in without anyone accompanying them and my dad told me to wait here. Come to think of it, they won't let you in either. How are you ever going to get in there?"
Link thought for a moment and grinned. "I'll find a way. You can at least come with me to the gate, right?" he said, and gave Malon a wink.
She smiled and said, "Yeah, I guess that won't be a problem."
The two of them walked up the hill toward the gates.
Link approached the guard and said, "I have to see Princess Zelda, let me in."
The guard looked at him and laughed. "Sure kid. I'll let you in when you're old enough to drink, alright? Beat it."
Link scowled and walked back to Malon, who had stayed behind.
"I told you you wouldn't get in," she said, sounding slightly smug.
Link shrugged. "Hey, it was worth a try, right? I'll just sneak in some other way."
Malon looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "You're going to sneak into the best-guarded place of Hyrule? You're nuts!" she exclaimed.
Link grinned at her and looked around. His grin widened and Malon looked in the same direction as Link. She frowned. She didn't see anything but a bunch of vines, but Link was already making his way there.
"See, I knew there'd be a way in," Link said smugly.
"You're not telling me you're actually going to climb these vines, are you?" Malon said, but she already knew the answer.
"Why not? It's not like I'm too heavy for them."
Malon sighed and said, "Well, good luck, fairy boy. Don't forget to wake my dad up, okay?"
"I won't. See ya later!" With that, he started to climb the vines.
Within seconds he was on top of the ledge that would allow him to bypass the gate.
Malon watched him as he snuck closer to the gate and moved out of sight so he wouldn't get caught. She wondered how long it would take for Link to get busted, and soon she had her answer when she heard shouting and cursing from behind the gate.
She looked around the corner and saw a guard approaching, who was dragging Link along.
"Scram, kid. Brats like you aren't allowed in here so get lost!"
The guard tossed Link out of the gate and closed it.
After a last, mocking glance he turned back and resumed on his route. The guard at the gate looked at Link in amusement. "You really don't know when to give up, huh?" he asked, shaking his head.
Link got to his feet, shot a furious glance at the guard and walked back over to Malon.
"Let me guess. You screwed up?" she asked innocently.
Link sighed. "Yeah, I slipped and rolled down the slope practically into that guard. This time I'll do it though."
"I'm sure you will. Again, good luck," Malon said with a wink.
Link started climbing again. When he reached the point where he'd lost his balance before he became extra careful.
"Link, what are you going to do? Even if you elude the guards the main entrance will still be closed," Navi whispered.
"I'll find a side entrance or something. There's always a way," Link replied tersely.
He crept on, making sure to avoid the guards, and eventually he reached the moat.
He sighed and muttered, "Well, time for a swim I guess..."
He swam with the current to the side of the castle and climbed out, being extra careful of the guards. But this side of the castle could only be reached by the main path as it was fenced on one side, and the guards didn't bother to patrol here. Clearly, they weren't used to having someone swim through the moat.
The only living being here was a rather large man with a ponytail, who lay sleeping on the ground. Link suspected that this was Malon's dad. He walked over to the man and poked him to see if he would wake up. When nothing happened he turned to Navi.
"Any ideas on waking this guy up?" he asked.
Navi thought for a moment and said, "Try making him sneeze with a blade of grass or something."
Link grinned evilly and pulled a blade of grass from behind the fence. He started poking around the man's nose with it and it had effect almost immediately. He sneezed with such force that Link was nearly blown back and sat up.
"What the...Oh man, I must have fallen asleep," the guy said.
Then his eyes met Link's. "Hey there young fella. Are you the one who woke me up?" he asked.
Link nodded. "I assume you're Malon's father? She's been waiting for you," he said.
The man paled. "Oh by the Godessess, I'm going to get it from her now...thanks for waking me up, though. My name is Talon. I'm the owner of the Lon Lon Ranch, you may have come across it on your way here."
Link nodded. "Yeah, I've seen it."
Talon got up and dusted himself off. "Well, I'd better get back to Malon. Knowing her, she's going to scold me the entire way home."
Link chuckled. "Yeah, well, try not to fall asleep if you want to prevent that," he said.
Talon winced. "I guess you're right...Well, be sure to visit our ranch when you're done here. I have to go now before Malon really freaks out. See ya!"
With that, he dashed off at an amazing speed and Link stared after him shaking his head.
"Well...now to find a way in..." He looked around but didn't immediately see anything that could get him into the courtyard.
"Link, look!" Navi said.
"That water opening there! Maybe you could crawl through there."
Link scrutinized it and his eyes lit up. "Navi, even though you're really annoying sometimes it's good to have you around. Let's go!" Link backed up a few steps and took a running jump, just making it to the ledge. He crawled through and wondered how many guards there would be on the other side.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Malon lay back in the hay and sighed. She had just finished feeding all the animals on the ranch and that meant her chores for the day were done. It had been a couple of days since she'd met the fairy boy Link at the Market, and she hadn't heard from him since. Somehow, she had hoped that he'd come to visit the ranch but apparently his meet up with Zelda prevented him from doing so. Or maybe he was still trying to get to her.
Malon smiled at the thought of Link still crawling around the castle looking for a way to get inside. Her smile disappeared when she considered the last option, that Link had simply forgotten about her. She didn't even really know why it mattered to her, but the fact that it did pissed her off. She got up and walked outside.
The sun was already getting low in the sky, and soon twilight would come. She walked into the horse pen and sang the song her mother had taught her. As usual, Epona came running to her as soon as she started singing.
She petted the mare and sang some more, until she heard a voice behind her.
"Hey, you sing pretty well."
Epona ran away and Malon turned to face Link, who was leaning on the fence of the horse pen.
"Link! How long have you been there?" she asked.
"I got here just now. Sorry I didn't visit you any earlier, but Zelda practically ordered me to climb Death Mountain and retrieve the Spiritual Stone there," he said.
Malon noticed that there were small burns and cuts on his arms, and that his tunic was blackened in several places as well. Lastly she saw the golden bracelet Link now wore on his left wrist, decorated with the Goron Tribe symbol carved from ruby.
"You look like you've been tossed into a volcano," Malon remarked as she walked closer to Link.
Link smiled a little and said, "Well, that about sums it up, I guess. Man, those Dodongos are a serious pain in the ass with their fire breath."
Malon shook her head. "Why did you even have to get that Spiritual Stone?" she asked.
Link climbed over the fence and gestured that Malon should sit down. When she sat, Link sat down as well and told her the entire story about the man from the desert, whose name was Ganondorf, and the Spiritual Stones.
"I know it all sounds weird to hunt after these stones for a mere dream, but I know Ganondorf is evil. I've seen him in my dreams before I even met him," Link finished his story.
Malon had listened in awe and now she shook her head to clear it and said, "But there's another Spiritual Stone right? Don't you have to retrieve that one as well?"
Link nodded and looked at her sideways. "Yeah, but I wanted to visit you guys before I go and look for it. I promised Talon I'd drop by, after all. Besides, I..." he didn't finish his sentence but instead turned red a little. "Uhm, forget I said that," he said, grinning sheepsihly.
Malon looked at Link in surprise. Why would he be acting like that? She decided not to go into it any further and said, "Well, I think dad wouldn't mind if you stayed here tonight. After all, it sucks to be out when the Stalchildren show up."
Link nodded and said, "You got that right, I hate those skeleton freaks. It would be very cool if your dad allowed me to stay here for now. Tomorrow I'll be off to Zora's Domain, since that's where the last Stone is."
Malon stood up and pulled Link up as well. "Let's try to find dad, then. I'm sure it'll be fine."
They went into the main ranch building, where Talon was busy preparing dinner. "Dad, Link is here on a break from his work for Princess Zelda, can he stay here for the night?" Malon asked.
Talon turned around and greeted Link. Then he said, "Sure, I don't see why not. I hope you don't mind sleeping in the hayloft, though."
Link shook his head. "Of course not. I've slept in places you can't even imagine, a hayloft's like a five-star inn to me," he said.
"It'll be good to have a normal place to sleep again for once," Navi chimed in. She'd been so quiet earlier that Malon had practically forgotten she was there.
"Alright then. Well, dinner'll be done in a few minutes so if you two can go and get Ingo I'll set the table," Talon said.
Malon nodded and pulled Link with her as she walked out of the kitchen.
"See, I told you it wouldn't be a problem," she said.
Link looked at her in confusion. "When did I ever say it was going to be a problem?" he asked.
"Never mind. Okay, let's find Ingo," Malon said.
Link looked at her apologetically. "Uhm, who's Ingo? I haven't met him yet," he said.
"Oh yeah, I forgot. Ingo's the farmhand. He should be in the barn, I believe," Malon said, thinking.
They walked over to the barn, where they indeed found Ingo, a thin man with a huge moustache. He seemed like a decent guy to Link, if somewhat bad-mooded. When they were at the dinner table table, Talon asked what Link had been doing at the castle, so Link told the story again, but he left out the details about Ganondorf and the dreams. Malon thought it was odd at first, but then she shrugged it off and figured that Link didn't feel like telling everything again.
After dinner Link and Malon helped with getting the horses back into their stables. Epona evaded everyone though. Malon smiled a little and said, "She's scared of you, Link. Normally she comes to me immediately."
Link looked surprised. "Why would she be scared? I never hurt animals, I love them," he said.
"Epona's just a bit shy. She'll come if I sing my mother's song though. That's what I was singing earlier. Want to sing along?" Malon asked.
Link replied, "I sing like an old crow, but I can play along on my ocarina, I guess."
Malon shrugged. "I guess that'll work too."
She started singing and soon Link was playing along with her on the ocarina he'd gotten from Saria. The tones of the music worked their magic on Epona, and soon she stood next to Link and Malon.
Malon smiled broadly. "See, she isn't afraid of you anymore, fairy boy," she said.
Link grimaced slightly when she used his nickname again. "Why do you call me fairy boy anyway?" he asked.
Malon smiled at him. "It sounds cute," she said with a wink. Link pretended to gag and Malon laughed.
Talon approached them. "Alright you two, I'd get to bed if I were you. If you want to reach Zora's Domain in any shape at all you need to be well rested. The road leading there's a watery hell," he said, looking at Link. Link nodded and glanced at Malon.
"I'll be sure to wake you up if I leave early," he said jokingly.
Malon smirked at him. "Do you really think you'll be earlier than me? We'll see, fairy boy."
Fifteen minutes later, everything was quiet at the ranch.
"Feels good to have a safe sleeping spot, huh?" Navi said as she curled up inside Link's hat.
"Yeah, finally some rest from those annoying Stalchildren," Link agreed. He turned to his side and tried to get some sleep, but five minutes later he heard the barndoor open. He sat up and his hand shot to his sword. He almost drew it until he heard Malon's voice.
"Relax, it's me," she said as she climbed up the ladder to the hayloft.
"Didn't your dad protest when you snuck out?" Link asked.
Malon huffed and said, "We're talking about my dad here. He'd sleep through a thunderstorm. Ingo doesn't care either way, so no trouble from him either."
Link chuckled. "Alright then. So, what's up?" he said, lying down again.
Malon sighed. "I just wanted to talk to you some more before you leave again. Your quest might take a long time so this'll be the last chance for now," she said, crawling over and lying down next to Link. Link turned his head to look into her eyes.
"So is there anything in particular you'd like to talk about? I mean, I've told you everything I did already," he said.
Malon was silent for a few moments before responding. "Well...I was wondering what the Spiritual Stones look like. I've never seen one before, so..."
Link dug in his pocket and retrieved the two Spiritual Stones he had collected so far: the Kokiri Emerald and the Goron's Ruby. Malon looked at them in amazement, her face lit by the glow that emanated from them.
Link put them back into his pocket and said, "The last one is the Spiritual Stone of Water, called the Zora's Sapphire. I'm not looking forward to retrieving it at all. I didn't like Death Mountain and I have a feeling I won't like this one either. Also, while I sort of knew about Gorons I've never seen a Zora before. I heard they're fish people, but that's all I know."
Malon sighed. "I don't know much about them either. They prefer to stay well away from Hylians, contrary to the Gorons. I've heard they're not bad, though, if somewhat strange."
For a while the two of them just lay there, saying nothing. Navi had already been fast asleep before Malon had even entered. "Link...you'll stop by to show me the final Stone before you head over to the Castle again, right?" Malon asked.
Link looked at her and said, "Sure. You'll be the first to see all stones together. Well except for me but I don't count in this case."
Malon smiled brightly and got up. "Well, then I'll be going to my bed now. While I'm usually the one scolding dad he can be pretty stern too, and if he'd discover that I'm not in my bed because I fell asleep here with you..."
She didn't finish, but Link got the point.
"Maybe I'll see you tomorrow," Link said.
"Count on it!" With that, Malon climbed down the ladder and snuck back into the house. Link turned back on his side, and this time he managed to fall asleep.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
"Hey, are you almost done daydreaming?"
The sound of Talon's voice caused Malon to snap out of her dreamyness.
"Uhm yeah, I'll be down in a minute!" she yelled back.
She had been up in her room, staring out of the window while contemplating the relative silence on the ranch. Link had left two days before, headed to Zora's Domain to retrieve the last Spiritual Stone for Princess Zelda.
Malon couldn't help but wonder why Zelda would need the Stones to stop this Ganondorf person, but she decided not to try and figure those kinds of things out. She stood up and walked downstairs. She'd help Talon and Ingo clean the stables and then she just had to feed the animals and later help with getting the horses into their stables.
She hoped that Link would be back soon, but still she didn't really know why. When he had suddenly turned up at the ranch she'd been happy he remembered her, but she didn't like it that he had to leave again so soon. And to do the bidding of someone he hardly knows, she thought with an anger that even surprised herself. Why was she angry at Zelda? It wasn't as if she had ever done something to her; hell, Malon had never even met her. In fact if Zelda hadn't been there, she wouldn't have met Link in the first place.
She sighed and started to clean the stables. At least the work kept her mind off Link for a while. But that night, when she was in her bed, she couldn't help but think of him again and wonder if he was okay. And still she didn't know why she even thought about him so much.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
With a roar of anger, Link swung his Deku Stick and smashed against the Biri that floated before him. The electric jellyfish disintegrated under the impact but the force of the blow broke Link's stick as well.
"Damn, that's about the twentieth stick I broke against those damn jellyfish," he said angrily.
"Why don't you just use your boomerang? It kills those Biri quite well, you know," Navi said, flying out of her hiding place in Link's hair.
Link sighed. "I know, but this one surprised me. I didn't have time to grab that damn thing and no way am I going to get myself zapped again," he said, looking around to see if there were any more Biri.
"I guess you're right. So just keep the boomerang ready just in case," Navi said.
Link nodded and dug up the boomerang. He had found it somewhere inside the gigantic fish he was still standing in and by this point he wasn't even surprised anymore whenever he saw another crate or something like it lodged in the fish's gut somewhere. He was, however, profoundly tired of the putrid fish smell around him and the attitude of the Zora princess, Ruto. Ruto had been sucked into Jabu-Jabu and Link had carried her around because she was too much of a bitch to walk.
Just a few minutes ago she'd been basically sucked up together with the last Spiritual Stone and a giant Octorok had attaced Link. He had killed it and now he was about the enter the room where Ruto should be. He didn't even care about the fact that were doors in this fish and rooms filled with absolutely nothing. He spotted some weird tentacle-like attachment to the 'ceiling' of the room he was in and tossed his boomerang at it. Link knew that hitting this thing would cause the door at the other side of the room to open, and despite his anger he wondered why hitting a tentacle would open a door.
The boomerang hit its mark and the door slid open. Link went through and faced the largest parasite he'd ever seen, the bio-electric anemone Barinade. He snorted in disgust and made short work of it, only to be reunited with Ruto shortly after.
When they were both out of the fish and in the cold water surrounding it, Ruto said, "Since you saved me from that thing, I'll give you a reward. What would you like?"
Link, who was wet, tired and covered in fish juice, was in no mood to be polite and said, "I want your Spiritual Stone."
Ruto frowned. "But it's my mother's keepsake...she said I should only give it to the man who will be my husband."
Link really wanted to slap her right then, even though he knew it was unreasonable of him. "Look, Zelda wants me to get her that damn Stone and I want to get it over with, so just give it to me," he snapped.
Ruto looked troubled, but then she said, "Alright. I'll be your fiancee from now on, so here's the Stone, Zora's Sapphire."
She handed Link the Stone and and after hastily thanking Ruto he hurried back. He was glad to be gone from Zora's Domain and back on dry land. As he looked at the sky, he knew he would never reach Malon's ranch before dark. He checked himself as he had the thought. Why had he called it Malon's ranch? It was called the Lon Lon Ranch and Talon was the owner, so why did he only think of Malon whenever he thought of the ranch? Was it because he knew her better than Talon or Ingo? Maybe, but still...
Navi had apparently noticed that there was something on Link's mind, because she said, "What's wrong? Is something bothering you?"
Link snapped out of his thoughts and put on a fake smile for Navi. "No, I'm fine. Just a bit tired from Jabu-Jabu, I guess. I'll be glad to get back to the ranch."
Navi wasn't so easily fooled however. She had seen the way Link's eyes seemed to focus on something far off as he mentioned the ranch. "And there isn't anyone in particular you'd like to see there?" she inquired.
Link looked at her for a long time. "No, why?" he finally said.
Navi sighed and said, "Well, I guess we should just try to get as far as we can before the Stalchildren show up and we have to make camp."
Link nodded and they started moving again. As soon as the sun had dropped beneath the western mountains, the ground in front of Link cracked and the Stalchildren dug their way out, their eyes glowing faintly in the dark. Link sighed and drew his sword. This would be a long night.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
It was late in the morning when Link and Navi arrived at the Lon Lon Ranch. Malon was just feeding the animals when Link entered the barn.
"Guess who's back," he said casually.
Malon turned around and scrutinized Link for any new injuries. Then she sniffed the air around him and recoiled. "Oh my Godessess Link, what is that horrible stench of rotten fish? What the hell have you been doing?" she asked, pinching her nose.
Link smiled apologetically and said, "I went fishing. Inside the biggest fish in Hyrule."
Malon shook her head in disgust. "You smell like...like...well, something extremely foul."
She grabbed Link's arm and dragged him with her. "Hey! Malon! Where the hell are you taking me?!" Link yelled in surprise.
"I'm taking you to the bath, fairy boy," she said, reverting to using her nickname for him. "I don't even want to hear your story before you've been thoroughly cleaned, you hear me?" she went on.
Link didn't respond. He was almost afraid of Malon now that she was acting like this. They reached the bath house and Malon pushed Link in forcefully, closed the door behind him and barred it from the outside.
"Now get in the bath and throw your clothes through the hatch!" she yelled inside.
"Uhm, okay!" Link yelled back from behind the door.
Shortly after, he shoved his clothes through the hatch next to the door and Malon could tell that even though a barred wooden door was between them Link was embarrassed.
"I'll get them cleaned up for you before you get out," Malon said.
Link didn't reply, but from the splash and the sigh of relief she heard she knew Link was in the water. Malon put Link's clothes into the washing bin and furiously turned the lever that powered it. After a few minutes, she removed the clothes from the washer and hung them out to dry. Half an hour later she collected the clothes, which were somewhat dry but not completely, and returned to the bath.
She shoved the clothes in through the hatch and said, "They're not fully dry yet, but at least they're clean now."
"Thanks!" Link said from beyond the door.
Malon removed the blockade and shortly after Link emerged from the bath, followed by Navi, who seemed a little dizzy.
"Uhm, what's wrong, Navi?" Malon asked.
"I was in Link's hat when you washed it...and I was mostly out cold when you hung me to dry," she said, sounding slightly sick.
Malon paled and made her apologies about ten thousand times, under the sound of Link's roaring laughter. Eventually Malon punched him in the face, apologized to Navi one last time and asked to see Link's new Spiritual Stone.
Link stopped rubbing his nose and retrieved the three Stones. Malon marveled at their beauty and wondered what mysterious powers were hidden within them.
She noticed that Link looked troubled now and asked, "What's wrong? I didn't hit you hard, did I?"
Link shook his head. "That's not it. It's just that I have a very bad feeling about taking these Stones to Zelda. It's as if something really big will happen and I'm not sure if it will be good or bad. Hell, for all I know she's going to send me on an even more dangerous errand next."
Malon bit her lip and said, "Well, whatever happens, you can always come here to rest up, you know. And if you do get another assignment, please let me know before you leave."
Link nodded and stared in the direction of the castle. He seemed to think for a moment and then he turned to face Malon again. "Stretch your arm," he said.
Surprised, Malon did as Link asked and raised her arm. Link removed the Goron's Bracelet from his wrist and slid it on Malon's outstretched arm.
"You can keep this for now. I have a feeling it might be a long time before I return here," Link said, smiling sadly.
Malon looked at the bracelet around her arm. "Won't you need it?" she asked.
Link shook his head. "That bracelet allowed me to pick bomb flowers on Death Mountain, but since I have real bombs now I won't be using it anymore. What's more is that only the wearer can remove it. I guess the Gorons fused it with some weird magic, but it prevented it from falling off during my travels without making it a hassle to remove it."
Malon nodded and touched the ruby sybol on the bracelet. "I'll treasure it until you come back," she promised.
Link smiled and looked into her eyes. "I hope I'll be back soon. If not...don't worry. I'll be fine," he said.
Malon looked away and said, "I hope so...well, good luck, Link...fairy boy." She smiled a little and Link smiled back.
"See you," he said.
"Bye Malon, see you soon," Navi said.
Malon looked after them as they walked to the castle and gazed at the sky. Dark clouds were packing and it seemed that over at the castle they had already congregated into a dark veil. Maybe that had been the cause of Link's bad feeling.
Malon looked until Link was nothing but a small dot at the horizon, and then she went back to work.
Two hours later, about the time Link would've reached the castle, the sky had opened up and rain was pouring down like a waterfall. Malon shot a glance in the direction of the castle, and witnessed the end of Hyrule as it had been. From the Temple of Time, just in front of the castle, a bright, white light shone. It reflected in the dark clouds and seeing it chilled Malon to the bone. She clenched her fists and felt her pulse rising. A few minutes later, the light dimmed. It was only a few more minutes later that smoke started to rise from the Market, and the flames could even be seen at this distance. They were not normal flames, but Hellfire, unleashed by the most wicked creature alive, Ganondorf.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Two days after the fall of Hyrule Castle and Market, Ganondorf's army reached the Lon Lon Ranch. A large group of Stalfos, led by a massive Iron Knuckle, marched onto the terrain. They stood at attention while Malon, Talon and Ingo stood before them, trembling. Malon saw the faint light reflect off the serpentine swords of the Stalfos. Their eyes glowed with menace and hatred. The Iron Knuckle stood perfectly still, holding its enormous axe as if it were weightless.
And then, walking calmly through the ranks of monsters, he approached. The self proclaimed Great King of Evil, Ganondorf. Malon felt that even the Stalfos were uneasy around Ganondorf, even though the reanimated skeletal warriors had no such things as feelings or emotions. Ganondorf stood taller than anyone on the ranch, and his yellow eyes, gleaming with unrelenting evil, fell upon the scared ranchfolk.
"You...you seem so pure of heart. Your lives are happy, carefree. But now, a new era will begin." Ganondorf said in his deep, dark voice. His gaze fell on Ingo. "Ingo. You, a greedy farmhand, will you serve me in return for fantastic wealth and my promise that you will live through my reign?" Ganondorf asked him.
"Y-Yes sir," Ingo said. Ganondorf smirked and raised his hand. Black energy shot into Ingo and the man sank to one knee.
"Then from now on, you are in charge of this ranch. Keep the horses in shape. And Ingo, do not let me down, or I might reconsider my generosity..." Ganondorf said. The threatening tone in his voice was unmistakable.
Without taking a look at Talon and Malon, Ganondorf turned around and walked away, followed by his army. Ingo crawled back up and turned to Malon and Talon, who had shuffeld closer together out of fear. He smiled cruelly.
"Talon, you heard King Ganondorf. I'm afraid you'll have to leave this ranch. As for you Malon, I want you here as a farmhand. You'll be doing all the chores from now on. And I will not tolerate any slacking. Now, move!" Ingo said.
Talon looked like he'd been slapped. "Ingo, what the fuck are you talking about?! I'm the one who started this ranch! You can't kick me out," he protested angrily.
Ingo smirked arrogantly. "Oh can't I? Just watch, you lazy bum." He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. From the ground, a Stalfos rose. It turned and advanced on Talon.
"Now if you value your life you'll get the hell off my ranch," Ingo said.
"At least let me take Malon with me; she's too young to be here all by herself!" Talon pleaded.
Ingo shook his head mockingly. "Haven't I been clear? The girl stays here to do chores as she should. If you really want to waste your life to get her, then be my guest."
Talon looked like he was about ready to fight the Stalfos, which had halted its advance but still had its sword raised, but he decided against it. He looked at Malon with sad eyes and said, "I'm sorry, Malon...One day, you'll be free again."
Malon's eyes filled with tears and she looked at the ground. "It's not your fault, dad. Just promise me I'll see you again someday," she sobbed.
Talon nodded. "I promise...bye..." Before he could say anthing else, Ingo snapped his finger again and the Stalfos started pushing Talon with its shield.
"I'm moving already, bonehead," Talon said angrily, and he walked off.
Ingo snapped his fingers one last time and the Stalfos disintegrated. He turned to Malon, who was still crying. "Get to work, wench. It's all you're here for, anyway."
With that, Ingo turned around and went inside. Malon sighed and went to work, occasionally wiping tears out of her eyes. Later that evening, Ingo tried to take her bracelet from her. "Give it to me, wench! Such a precious artefact does not belong to someone like you," he said menacingly.
Malon held her arm behind her back and said, "I'm not giving it to you! Link gave this to me and I won't let you take it!" Ingo frowned angrily and tried to pull it from her wrist, only to find that it was held there by some magic force. "Only the wearer can remove it," Malon said. "I'll never take it off, so unless you want to cut my hand off you should just give up!" Ingo scoffed.
"Fine, keep your bracelet. It won't do you any good, though. Everyone around the Market and the Temple of Time is dead. That means your little friend as well." Malon jerked back. She had feared that Link had died, but hearing it like this still seemed to tear apart her insides. When Ingo left, Malon lay on her bed and cried. Her father was in exile somewhere, Link was dead, she had nothing left. Malon put her hand on the bracelet and thought of Link's ominous feeling. He had been right, apparently. Eventually, Malon cried herself to sleep.