Disclaimer: Once again, all characters in the story are property of Nintendo. The ideas are still mine.
Chapter 2: A Talk, A Declaration, And A Smackdown
Link had just walked down the stairs of Kakariko Village into Hyrule Field. He wanted to get going as soon as possible, and so he pulled out the Ocarina of time. As he started to play Epona's song, he suddenly thought back to the day, seven years ago, when he had first been taught that song.
--Flashback--
"My mother composed this song. Isn't it nice? Let's sing it together."
--Flashback--
Link could remember everything about that day as vividly as if it had happened yesterday. And, well, it hadn't been all that long ago for him. A couple of months, really. But for her...
He felt guilty. They'd been best friends when the two of them were ten, even though they'd only known each other for a few weeks. He'd had a major culture shock the moment that he'd walked into Castle Town, and she'd been the only person who was kind enough to take some time to help someone else. She'd showed him the way to the castle, and asked him a simple favor in return. Just find her dad. And she'd even helped him again, once the guards had thrown him out on his ass for asking to see Zelda.
As soon as he'd talked to Zelda, he'd decided to go see just what this ranch was all about. it had captivated him as soon as he stepped foot inside the gate. So peaceful. Not at all like the hustle and bustle of Castle Town. He was more used to this.
She'd been there in the field, with the horses. He'd run over again, just to thank her for everything she'd done for him the day before. The little horse she was singing to bolted as soon as he'd gotten within ten feet.
"Skittish" he'd thought.
And then, he had to go and get locked in the Sacred Realm for seven years. It's not like he'd wanted to stay there, he had no choice. He still held a grudge against Rauru for that. And he made sure that the old man knew it, every time he'd awakened another Sage.
But there was nothing he could do about it. All that he could do was head to the ranch to make sure everything was okay. It'd shocked him, to say the least. The ranch had fallen into disrepair in the time he'd been gone. Ingo had taken over and kicked Talon out. He forced Malon to do all the work, and she went along with it, for the sake of the animals. Link knew that she never would have left the animals to the cruelty of Ingo. All she'd asked of him was to save the animals. And he knew that it would put a smile on her face if he did. That was the only motivation that he needed. He had done it that day. It wasn't something he was proud of, and he certainly would never tell Malon what he'd actually done to Ingo. For all she knew, Link had simply won Epona in a race, and Ingo had turned over the ranch to escape the wrath of Ganondorf, and then left. The truth was much harsher than that.
--Flashback--
"Who are you? Where are you taking me? What are you going to do to me?" Ingo screamed.
"You do not need to know who I am. Soon, it won't matter. As to where we're going, that would be Lake Hylia. No one will find you there." Link responded.
When they reached the lake, Link was surprised to find it in the state it was in. The clear blue water that had filled the lake when he was a boy had all but left. it was a mere shadow of its former glory. But it would still do. Link led Ingo over the bridges, and to the island in the center of the lake. Link forced Ingo to his knees on the platform that covered the center of the island, and pulled the Master Sword from its sheath. This would be the first time he'd use it. As he placed the flat of the sword on Ingo's shoulder, Link could see understanding grace Ingo's black eyes.
"Why?" was all that Ingo asked.
"For her." Link answered as he brought the sword through Ingo's neck.
He left as Ingo's body floated to the bottom of the lake, weighted down by rocks.
--Flashback--
Of course, he hadn't realized that he'd be coming back to Lake Hylia again. He could have sworn that he'd seen a pile of bones as he walked toward the Water Temple.
But that was the past, and Link didn't regret what he had done. He'd done it for the good of the ranch, but more importantly, he had done it for her, just as he'd told Ingo.
Link looked up, and was surprised to see that he was closing in on the ranch. He must have been reminiscing longer than he'd thought. Not that it was a bad thing. He really hadn't been looking forward to the traveling he'd have to go through to get to the ranch. He'd had enough of traveling, especially since there was no place in Hyrule he hadn't seen over the last few months. He was looking forward to a nice, long vacation, and he knew just where he'd like to take it. The sun was just starting to dip below the mountain range as he guided Epona through the wrought iron gates that protected the ranch in times of danger. He brought Epona to a halt just outside the stable, and let her roam, as he listened. Soon, faintly in the distance, he could hear someone singing. He knew right away that is was her. Talon couldn't sing, that was for sure. Link shuddered as he remembered that.
"I couldn't hear anything for a week. Never go to a karaoke bar with Talon. Especially if he's going to get drunk." Link thought as he made his was out toward the horse field.
Link decided that he wanted to surprise Malon, instead of walking right up to her. He looked around the ranch, and finally decided on his plan of attack. He could just make Malon out in the center of the field, and so he snuck through the shadows by the fence around the small shack that was built into the smaller fence around the field. He pulled out his longshot, and latched onto the wall. Pulling himself onto the roof, he took the tip of the longshot as sunk it into the underside of the ceiling he was perched on.
"Now I just have to get her to walk over here. But how?" Link asked himself.
He decided to bring his ocarina to his lips and play.
Little did Link know that Epona had found her way into the field as he was making his was around the back, and so his cover had effectively been blown. But as soon as she heard her mother's song being played on an ocarina, she decided that she would play along, if only for Link. He seemed to have gone to alot of trouble to surprise her, after all.
And so, she lifted her head and looked around. Her ears soon discovered that the song was coming from the little covered seat her father had built over by the fence.
"He's got to be hiding on the roof." she thought. "He's really going all out this time."
As she made her way over to the seat, Lin grinned in triumph. His plan had worked. Of course she would investigate her mother's song. As soon as she sat down, Link cautiously made his way to the front of the roof and grabbed the longshot. He was just about to lower himself down, right in front of her face, when...
"You know, it's alot more comfortable down here, instead of up on the roof." she said.
Link was so startled that he lost his grip on the roof, and tumbled to the ground with a thud and a gasp.
"Ow...Okay, Malon, what gave me away?" Link asked her as he sat up, rubbing his head where it had connected with the ground.
"Oh Link, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean for you to get hurt. Come here, and I'll make it better." Malon told him.
"Well, how can I refuse an offer like that? But seriously, what gave me away?" Link asked her again, as he got up from his spot on the ground and sat down next to her on the bench.
Malon immediately took his hat from him, and started to rub the back of his head where'd it had landed, hoping to make it feel better instead of worse. Over the past few months, she'd come to learn what she could do to take Link's mind off of what he had to do, and she found that Link had one weakness, the back of his head. It was cute, she thought, the way he was like a puppy when she did this.
"Well, how could you expect Epona to stay away from me? I know I'm drop dead gorgeous." she told him.
"True." Link agreed "There's no denying that."
That was another reason that Malon liked scratching his head. He became so relaxed that he didn't hold back anything when they talked. Everything he told her was the exact truth, and nothing else. Sometimes it surprised her, what she learned when they talked like this. But it was never anything bad. And there were some things that she didn't want to force out of him.
"I really want to know Link. How do you feel about me? Sometimes I think about asking you during times like this, but I don't want to force you to tell me. I want you to tell me on your own. I want you to want to tell me." Malon thought.
She looked over to ask Link another question, and was surprised to see that he wasn't sitting there anymore. She was about to get up and go looking for him, when she heard a light snore from her lap. She glanced down, and smirked when she saw Link, who had put his head down on her lap while she was thinking and fallen asleep.
"Wherever he came from, it must have really exhausted him"
Malon knew that she would never be able to move Link on her own. She couldn't think of anything that she could do, but she really didn't want to leave Link out here all night. She was just about to give up when she remembered something.
"Hey Navi, can you come out here for a minute?" she called out.
Navi extracted herself from folds of Link's tunic, where she'd been thinking about everything they'd been through. She glanced down at Link, and couldn't help but chuckle.
"What's up Malon? Need some help with sleeping beauty over there?" Navi asked. "Although I can't blame him. We did have quite the day. I'm sure he'll tell you about it tomorrow."
"Okay. I just was hoping that you'd go over to the house and find my dad. I'm going to need some help getting Link into a bed. He should still be up. If he's not, just yell something crazy. That usually works." Malon told the floating companion.
Navi made her way over to the house, thinking that sometimes it was a good thing she hadn't been with Link from birth. The Kokori couldn't get to far from their fairies, and so where usually just a friend to the children. But Navi was glad she wasn't confined to Link. She could be alot more useful that way. Like now. She made her way over to the door, and was glad to see the front door cracked open. She floated through, and looked around. She saw Talon over in the rocking chair by the fireplace. He had a bottle of Lon Lon milk in his hand, and Navi could see it was half drank. She was also glad to see that he was still awake, even if he could drift of any minute. She floated over to where he was, and got right up in his face.
"Hey!" she screamed. "Malon needs some help."
"Well hey, Navi. What brings you to the farm. Where's Mr. Green Boy?" Talon asked, once he recognized her.
"That's what Malon needs your help with. They were talking on that seat in the horse field, and Link kinda fell asleep. She can't move him, so she asked me to come get you." Navi told him.
"Okay. Lets see what we can do, shall we" Talon responded as he hauled himself out of his chair and over to the door.
Together, the two of them made their way to the two teenagers. Talon couldn't help but smile to himself. His daughter must have been a just as exhausted as Link, because she had fallen asleep sitting there. He hand was still buried in Link's hair, scratching the back of his neck. Talon reached down to extract his daughter's hand from the mess of blonde that it was tangled in, but as soon as he tried, she stopped scratching and instead grabbed a clump of Link's hair.
"Well, shoot. That just makes things more difficult, don't it Navi? It doesn't look like I'll be able to separate them, does it. Can't have Malon ripping out a chunk of Link's hair. Can't imagine that he'd appreciate that too much. I think I can carry them both, but that still doesn't mean she's going anywhere from him. At least not until she wakes up. I may not like it, but they'll just have to share a bed tonight. I trust Link, so I know he's not going to try anything funny." Talon said, more to himself than Navi.
"You know Talon, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Link is pretty clueless when it comes to these sort of things." Navi responded.
And so, Talon bent down, careful to keep the two of them close enough that Malon wouldn't go separating Link from any of his hair, and hoisted them over his shoulders. As he made his way to the house and up to Malon's room, her hand never left Link's hair.
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The next morning, Malon couldn't help but notice that she was alot more comfortable in her bed than she normally was. She really didn't want to have to get up. But she knew that she had to. She had things to do around the ranch, and she wanted to try and get them done before Link woke up, so they could spend the day together. But as she tried to pull herself out of her bed, she was surprised when she felt resistance stop her. She looked down, and saw an arm was wrapped around her stomach.
"That's odd" she thought. "I have no reason to stop myself from getting out of bed."
Then she decided to look again. The arm that had snaked it's way across her stomach did not make it's way up to connect to her shoulder. Instead, it continued to a point behind her. As she investigated where it came from, she noticed that she could feel something warm on the back of her neck. She turned her head around, and was surprised to find herself face to face with Link, who looked to still be asleep.
Needless to say, Malon was surprised by this turn of events. Not that she was going to complain, she kind of liked being held by Link like this. She just wanted to know what was going on. She decided to lay back down while she thought about how she, and Link, had come to be where they are. And that's when she noticed the paper on her nightstand. She reached over to pick it up, and recognized her father's handwriting.
Malon,
You're awake by now, and have probably noticed your bedmate. You fell asleep last night after you sent Navi over to get me, so I had to haul you both back to the house. The only reason Link isn't in the guest room is because I'm pretty sure he's attached to all of his hair, which you would have pulled out if I'd tried to separate you. I had to make a run to Kakariko to drop off some milk, and to pick up some things for the ranch. I should be back by tomorrow evening. Please take care of the ranch while I'm gone.
Love,
Talon
Well, that explained that. She decided that she would just lay back down and wait for Link to wake up.
Luckily she didn't have to wait that long. Within a half hour, Link started to stir from his place next to Malon. She watched as his eyes fluttered open, and sat up. Link looked around the room, and Malon could tell that he was a little confused as to where he was. He scratched his head as he looked around, and when his eyes settled on Malon, she could see the understanding in his eyes as he remembered what had happened last night.
"Uh, Malon, what am I doing in your bed?" Link asked, still somewhat groggy.
"My dad had to carry us both in after we fell asleep last night, and I guess I didn't want to let go of your hair. So he just put us both here." Malon told him as she started to scratch the back of Link's head again.
"Well, I can't really complain. I sure could do alot worse for company." he told her as he closed his eyes again. "Ow!"
"You could do alot worse! What's that supposed to mean? Does that mean that you could do alot better too?" Malon playfully tugged on Link's hair, since she knew exactly what he'd meant. It was still fun to play with him, because he always tried to hard to calm her down afterwards.
"Now Malon, that's not what I mean, and you know it. Please, stop pulling on my hair, it hurts!" Link screamed.
"You realize that you scream like a girl." Malon informed Link.
"Oh please, that was nothing. You missed me in the Shadow Temple. That place was freaky, since it's supposed to be the 'House of the Dead'. Skeletons around every corner." Link told her.
Malon shuddered. "So that's why you lost your voice that one time. Too much screaming? Oh Link, that's too funny. Mr. Hero, screaming his lungs out." She couldn't help but chuckle.
"Yeah yeah. Laugh it up. You didn't have to spend a week in there. I never want to do that again."
"I wouldn't want to either. So tell, me, fairy boy, what happened since the last time I saw you? You only left here a couple of days ago, but you didn't even tell me where you were going." Malon was honestly curious. Normally, Link would show up at the ranch, stay a couple of day, and then he'd be gone. She wouldn't see him for weeks at a time, and then he'd just show up again. This was the shortest time he'd been away from the ranch, and Malon didn't know if he'd accomplished what he'd left the ranch to do.
"Fairy boy? Still? Well, farm girl, if you must know, I was over in Castle Town. I had to finish up one last thing." Link told her.
"One last thing? What would that have been?" Malon asked him. He wasn't normally this vague. He'd always told Malon what had happened in the temple he'd just been through, usually in excruciating detail.
"I had to fight Ganondorf." was all he said.
"Link! How could you? You could have very easily been killed by that man! He isn't someone that you take lightly." Malon had seen Ganondorf on occasion, when he'd come to see how Ingo was running the ranch, She never liked him, and always locked herself in her room while he was there. Ingo wasn't happy about that, and had given her more than her normal beatings for those incidents. She still had some of the scars from him, and was glad that Link had chased him away from the ranch and brought her father back.
"You mean 'he wasn't someone that you take lightly." Link shot back, more to himself than to Malon.
Malon, however, heard him loud and clear. "Link, what do you mean 'wasn't'?"
"Oh, shit. Uh...Malon, you weren't exactly supposed to hear that. I kinda, well...Lets just say that Ganondorf isn't a problem anymore."
"Link, just tell me. What exactly did you do after you left the ranch the last time. And please, no cryptic messages. Just be honest with me." Malon pleaded
"Okay. I'll spill. When I left the ranch, I headed to Castle Town. Since I'd already taken care of all the temples, it was time for me to deal with the head honcho himself. But first, Sheik had told me to meet him in the Temple of Time, so I headed there before taking on the castle. Turns out that Sheik was just Zelda in disguise. She told me that I apparently hold the Triforce of Courage, and that's why I'm able to do everything that I've done. Unfortunately, Ganondorf had figured that she'd find me eventually, and so he was ready for when she did. He captured her for her piece of the Triforce, and took her up to the castle. I knew that I had to go take him down once and for all, so I followed after him. Let me tell you, Mal, he's got one freaky place to be staying. After taking down the barrier that he'd put up around the tower, I had to rush up and deal with even more of his cronies before I could find him. When I got to where he was, he's just sitting around playing his organ. He must of had a lot of practice, because he's actually pretty good. He talked alot, but I didn't really pay attention to what he was saying. He fights like a madman, though. remember how I told you about my fight with Phantom Ganon in the Forest Temple? He fought just like that. So it really wasn't that hard to beat him. After he went down, the castle started to collapse. Zelda said it was Ganondorf trying to take us down with his final breath. But it didn't work. I felt like laughing when we made it out."
"So that was what all that shaking was yesterday?" Malon asked. "I didn't know what it was, but I was really surprised when the castle went down. I had a feeling that's where you'd gone, but I really didn't want to think the worst. I couldn't bear to think that you'd died, Link. I just couldn't!" Malon was crying by the time she finished saying this.
It was hard for Link to just sit there and watch Malon cry, especially when he knew that it was his fault. He didn't know what to do, so he just hugged Malon closer and stroked her hair as she calmed down. Link had learned that this was the best thing that he could do when she got like this. as soon as she had calmed down, she turned around in the bed so she was facing him.
"So that's it?" she asked, eyes still slightly red.
"Well, I thought that it was. And so did Zelda. Once we started to walk away from the ruins, we heard something shifting in the rubble. We both knew that it wasn't just random rubble shifting, so I decided to make my way over to the pile in the center to see what was going on. As soon as I walked up to the rubble, Ganondorf burst out. I could tell that he was dead, but I think he had corrupted the Triforce of Power to where it wanted what he wanted. I think it was manipulating his body. Anyways, all of a sudden, he started to change. His entire body began to shake, and he turned into this demon. I can't even describe what he looked like. There were times when I was fighting it that I really thought I was going to die, especially since he'd been able to knock the Master Sword out of his ring of fire. I had to fight him with my bow and my hammer. I finally managed to knock him out, so I ran over and grabbed the Master Sword from where it was. But when I ran back in, he was already getting back up. After that, he was alot more cunning. It was really hard to deal the last shot. I had to put myself in some serious danger in order to pulls it off. But I did. And now he's locked forever in the Sacred Realm. Everything is over."
Malon was still sniffling, knowing that Link had put himself in mortal danger just to save everyone. But she was glad that he didn't have to fight anymore. He didn't, right?
"Link, are you done fighting? Do you have to do anything else?" she asked.
"Well, Zelda asked me to do one more thing. I know that you don't want me to go, but I told Zelda that I wanted to take a little break before I did anything." Link answered.
"What did she ask you to do?"
"I have to go around and take care of Ganondorf's monsters pone last time. That way, Zelda can get started rebuilding everything." he told her.
""How long do you think it will take you?" Malon was almost desperate to know how long he would be gone.
"I figured I'd be able to Clear out Castle Town in just a day. Then I'll come back here, and on to Death Mountain, Lake Hylia, and Zora's River. Everything else can wait. Hopefully, I should be able to do everything in a week after I start." he answered.
"Link, what can I do to help you? I know that I wasn't able to do much for you over the last few months, but I want to help." she told him.
"Mal, I was really hoping that I could come back here once I'm done clearing out a place. I really don't want to be running from one place to the next without a rest."
"You know that you're always welcome here. You don't even have to ask. I'd love to have you staying here." Malon told him.
"You'd love to have me staying here? Really, Mal?" Link laughed as he wagged his eyebrows at her.
"Well...uh...I mean we'd love to have you staying here. Not just me." Malon stuttered.
"Okay, sure, Mal. we'll believe that. If that's what you want to say."
"Now, don't get me wrong, Fairy Boy. I do love having you stay here with me on the ranch. I'm just sad that you're going to have to leave soon" she said, hoping that Link couldn't see the blush that crept over her face.
"Well, would it make you better if I told you that Zelda's not expecting any progress until the end of the week? I'm not going anywhere until Friday." Link told her.
"Really? Link, that's wonderful. It'll be just like when you came to visit as a kid! We'll have all sorts of fun. But you'll have to help me with my chores around the ranch." she beamed at him.
"But of course. What good would I be as a hero if I couldn't help a fair maiden in need?" he responded.
"Well, we'd probably better get started. My dad had to go to Kakariko to make some deliveries, and said he probably won't be back until tomorrow evening. So it's just you and me until then." Malon informed him.
"Well, if we must get up. I was rather comfortable here. So, what's first on the list of things to do?" Link asked Malon. After all, her dad had put her in charge for the day.
"He was comfortable? What does he mean by that? Was he comfortable because of the bed? It is a nice bed. Dad stuffed it with cucco feathers, after all. Or did he mean that he was comfortable laying there with me?" Malon thought as she stared into the distance. She could feel the blush starting to creep into her cheeks again, but there wasn't anything she could do to stop it.
Link wasn't oblivious to the change in Malon's appearance, and could only watch as she ran with whatever it was she was thinking. He wasn't quite sure he wanted to know, the way she was giggling. Needless to say, he wasn't quite prepared for what happened yet, especially after the silence that had preceded it.
"Oh yes! Harder, Link!" Malon screamed.
The thud that followed as Link fell to the floor was more than enough to snap Malon back into the real world, and as soon as she realized where Link was, as well as the look on her face, she knew that she had just allowed her thoughts to take over her mouth.
"Did I just say what I think I just said? Please tell me I didn't." Malon asked, mortified.
"The last word that cam out of you're mouth were 'Oh yes. Harder, Link.' Care to tell me what that's supposed to mean?" Link asked, looking quite confused.
"Oh thank Naryu. I forgot that Link spent the last seven years locked away. He never got the talk. That was awkward, hearing it from dad." Malon told herself.
At least, Malon thought she'd just t said it to herself. The Goddesses were not on her side today when Link asked her "Malon, what was an awkward talk with your father?"
"Oh shit!" Malon thought. "There's no way he's going to let me out of this one, is there? I guess I'll have to be the one to give him the talk. This is going to be interesting."
And so, for the next two hours, Link and Malon continued to lay in the bad as Malon described the ins and outs of adult relationships, as well as how the adult body worked. Link never thought he would see Malon turn as red as she did while she told him everything about this thing called sex. She sure glanced at him alot while she described everything that adults did with each other, kissing and touching and...other things. "I really should have taken Zelda up on that offer. No one should ever have to learn any of this."
For the rest of the day, Link simply wandered around the ranch dazed, as he helped Malon with the chores. He couldn't stop thinking about everything Malon had told him that morning. She'd been very descriptive about what she'd told him, and since then, he couldn't help but think about her. He was scared to look at Malon when he walked past her, since he thought that anytime he did, he'd just picture her naked. He had never thought that he would think about Malon, let alone any girl, that way.
"What in the world does this mean. Naryu, please give me the wisdom to figure this out. Is it possible that I like Malon as more than a friend? Does this mean that I want to do things with her?" Link asked himself, more confused than he'd ever been in his whole life.
Malon also noticed the change that came over Link. She couldn't help but think it was all her fault that he was acting this way. after all, she'd done the exact same thing when her father had explained it to her. It had taken her three days to get over some of the mental scars she'd had. She resolved herself to talk to Link once they were done with the chores. She also decided that tonight she would tell Link exactly how she felt.
She spent the rest of the day planning just how she would tell him. She wanted it to be perfect.
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As noon rolled around, both Link and Malon found themselves increasingly hungry. And so, Malon lay down the scythe she had been using to trim the weeds that were sprouting up in the horse field and walked over to Link, who had been touching up the paint of the outside of the house.
"You getting hungry there, fairy boy?" she asked.
Link, momentarily forgetting his fears, smiled at Malon. "And just what were you planning on making, Mal?"
As soon as he had spoken, however, Link's eyes began to betray him. He had intended to keep his eyes glues to Malon's face, but they had other ideas. Malon noticed this, too, but she really didn't mind. After all, it is Link, and she knew that he had crossed through her mind more than once, and never usually fully clothed. She watched as his eyes slowly wandered from her face, lingered slightly on her chest, and continue to travel down, past her stomach, and over her legs, before they reversed direction, and ended up staring her back in the eyes. She thought she detected a hint of approval over what he saw, as well as...what she could only describe as lust?
"Well, it's nice to know that he likes what he sees. Hopefully it means that things will go alot smoother tonight." Malon thought.
"Well, I was planning on whipping up a quick soup. we got alot done today, so I figured we could just kick back the rest of the day. I was kind of hoping you'd be up for a picnic tonight, though."
"Malon, you are a genius. That sounds like the perfect way to relax." Link told her.
"I'm glad you think so. I'm going to go get started on the soup, then. You're more than welcome to lend a hand, although I've tasted your cooking, and it leaves alot to be desired."
"Yeah, well, I like to think I've improved alot over the past few months. I wasn't puking my dinner up every night after a while." Link rebutted.
"One can hope. Well, come on. Show me how much you've improved."
Malon finally pushed her bowl away from her, too stuffed to eat another bite.
"Come one, Mal. Admit it. It was an improvement, wasn't it?" Link asked her.
"I'll have to say, Link" Malon started, as she pushed herself out of her chair, maneuvered her way over to where Link was sitting, and lowered herself onto his lap, "that was really good. Where'd you learn to cook like that?"
"You know what they say. Practice makes perfect." he answered, surprised at how comfortable she was making herself.
"I don't know about perfect. I mean, I can make better soup with my eyes closed"
"You wish, farm girl" Link shot back at her.
"I don't wish. I know." she told him, tapping her forehead.
"Know what, Malon?" came a small voice that floated down the stairs.
"That I can make soup that's far better than any that Link can make, Navi." Malon called back.
"Navi, it's already noon. Have you been asleep this entire time?" Link asked his fairy companion.
"And what if she was Link? May I remind you that you couldn't even wait to make it to a bed last night?" Malon said as she playfully hit Link on the arm.
"Oh is that how it's going to be, Mal? I might just have to return the favor."
"Link, you wouldn't hit a lady, now would you?" Malon asked, not quite knowing the answer.
"Oh Mal, I would never hit a lady. But who said anything about hitting?" Link said, as he picked Malon up by the waist and moved her over to the couch.
Link, true to his word, did not hit Malon. Instead, he places his hands around her stomach and began tickling Malon.
"Ah! Link! Don't! You know...ha ha ha...how ticklish I am! Ha ha ha! Stop! I can't...ha ha ha...take it anymore!" Malon whined.
"Say uncle. Give up, and I'll stop." Link told her.
"Oh, Link, you're...ha ha ha...horrible! How could...ha ha ha...you?"
"I'll stop when you give up, Mal." Link told her again.
"Oh, fine! I...ha ha ha...I give!" Malon hollered.
"Say uncle." Link said.
"Uncle!" Malon screamed, and Link immediately stopped his torture.
He didn't however, move from where he sat, pinning Malon's legs down so she couldn't have kicked him. He leaned down and placed his forehead on hers.
"Now that wasn't so hard, was it Mal?" he asked.
"It was horrible." Malon whispered, aware of just how close his lips were to hers.
"What is he doing? Is he going to kiss me?" Malon thought.
"I'm sorry, Mal. Was it really that bad?" Link said, with just a hint of guilt in his voice.
"It was, but not anymore." she responded.
"Well, that's good." Link told her. "Now, how about we go ahead and clean up?" Link asked as he motioned to the lunch mess, still laying where they'd left it.
"If we must." she responded, making it quite obvious her thoughts on that plan.
"Well, I suppose the dishes can wait. It's not like they're going to be walking off." Link said, hoping to make Malon smile.
"No, I don't suppose they will. But Link, you're kind of hurting my legs." Malon said, wincing.
Link immediately jumped up, checking Malon's legs for any damage.
"I'm sorry Mal! Did I hurt you? Are you okay? Anything broken?" Malon could tell that Link was frantic, and would only spiral further out of control if she didn't calm him down soon.
"Link, I'm fine. Really. You didn't do any damage. It was just a little uncomfortable, that's all. Just come here and sit with me. I want to hear all about your adventure again." Malon told him.
"Are you sure you're okay, Mal?" Link asked, not quite believing that Malon was telling the whole truth.
"I'm positive, Link. Now sit. I want to hear all about your fight with Volvagia again."
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"So then, Ruto tells me that she has to call off our engagement. Boy, was I happy when she said that. I tell you, if I'd been forced to marry her, I might have run myself thorough with the Master Sword. I don't know what I would have done." Link finished.
"I don't know what I would have done either, Link" Malon thought to herself.
Link had finished telling her about his trip through the Fire Temple, and she had begged him to continue on to the Water Temple. She had always envied Link, since he got to travel all around Hyrule and see all sorts of beautiful places. Malon hoped that one day she could convince him to take her everywhere his adventure had taken him. Until then, she loved hearing his stories about the places. That's one of the reasons she had always looked forward to Link's next visit. He always cam back to the ranch with a new story to add on to his adventure.
Of course, Malon had other reasons for looking forward to his visits. At first, she hadn't wanted to admit it. She'd told herself that she was just grateful to him for saving her from Ingo. She'd told herself that it was just a crush, which she would get over it eventually. It wasn't until he'd come back from the Fire Temple, covered with gashes and burns from the lava that filled the temple, that she had finally realized that it was more than a crush. She'd had to admit to herself that she was attracted to the hero. And she knew that it wasn't for the reasons that other girls would be. It wasn't because he was the Hero of Time. She'd known him long before he took up that role. No, Malon was attracted to him because of his personality, because of the way he treated her, the way he looked out for her, and just the person that she saw only when he was with her. He'd acted completely different the few times that he's accompanied her into Kakariko Village to help with the deliveries. Of course, it didn't hurt that he was quite a looker.
Malon didn't want to sound too conceited, but she liked to think that she had grown up rather nicely as well. And based on Link's reaction before lunch, he thought the same thing. She was glad that he did. She wanted him to appreciate what she had to give him, and her looks were one thing she hoped she could. Of course, she also hoped that Link wasn't just interested in her for her looks, but other things too. Of course, first she hoped that Link was attracted to her like she was attracted him. They were best friends, and she hoped that he didn't want to keep things that way.
"So, Mal. Tell me what happened while I was gone." Link said, snapping Malon out of her thoughts.
"Now Link, you know that hardly anything interesting happens on this ranch. You coming back is usually the one noteworthy thing that happens. Otherwise, it's just alot of chores, day in and day out." she answered, telling him the truth, just not the reason why it was the truth.
"Malon, why do I have a hard time believing that?"
"I don't know Link. I'm going to chalk it up to how dense you are." Malon giggled as she said it.
"Now that wasn't nice, Mal. am I going to have to tickle you again?"
Malon's eyes widened when he said this, remembering not only the torture he'd inflicted but the moment that had followed it. She put on her best mock fear face as she said "Oh Link, please don't torture little old me!"
"Ha! Right, Malon. You just try and sound helpless, but I know you." Link shot back at her.
"I guess you're right. There's nothing I can put past you, is there?"
"You got that right, Mal." Link said with a wink.
Malon chose that moment to glance at the clock, and noticed that they'd taken the last four hours talking. What were they going to do about their picnic! They weren't anywhere near ready to go!
"Link!" Malon screamed, jumping to her feet.
"What, what is it?" Link said, as he jumped to his feet also and pulled out the Master Sword.
"Oh, put that thing away. We just need to get ready for out picnic. Or did you forget already?" Malon told him, pushing the hand he held the Master Sword in down out of her face.
"Oh. Of course I didn't forget, Mal. I just didn't know when you wanted to head out. " Link told her.
He grabbed a handful of his tunic, and brought it up to his nose, taking a sniff. Immediately, he dropped it and started coughing.
"Oh my goddesses! That reeks. Of course, I can't blame it. I haven't had a chance to change it for the last few days, and it's probably covered in demon spit. I'm gong to have to go change real quick, Mal." Link remarked as he started to take the tunic off.
Malon couldn't help but stare at Link's chest as he struggled to get his tunic over his head. A slight blush crept its way over her cheeks again. Then she noticed the bandage he had tied to his arm. She couldn't help but think that it looked extremely familiar, and so she walked over and grabbed both of Link's arms to keep him still.
"Mal, what are you doing?" Link asked, slightly startled.
"Just hold still." she told him.
And then she realized what it was. It wasn't a bandage, it was her scarf! And it was soaked in Link's blood! She couldn't believe him. She'd told him to keep it safe, and he went and got it covered in blood!
"Link! Look what you did to my favorite scarf! I can't believe you! I told you to keep it safe!" Malon screamed, grabbing his tunic and throwing it into the corner by the stairs.
Link glanced at the scarf in question, and was shocked to see that it was soaked in blood. He was positive that it wasn't that way when he'd left the ranch, and he couldn't remember taking a hit to the arm. He decided that the adrenaline must have blocked out the pain from any wound he'd gotten heading up the castle. Then, upon closer inspection, he noticed the gash that graced his arm, between his shoulder and Malon's scarf. It was still bleeding. That would explain why his arm had been bothering him all day. He'd just chalked it up to exhaustion from the battle before hand.
Unfortunately, Malon also noticed the gash, and just how much blood was coming from the wound. She was surprised. Link hadn't said one word about his arm all day. She doubted he'd even taken the time to check over his body at all, the way he was so reckless. All the anger she felt over her scarf immediately evaporated, replaced by concern.
"Link, go up to my room and lie down on the bed. I'm going to grab the first aid kit. I'll be right up, and then we'll take care of your arm." The tone of her voice left Link no room for debate.
Malon walked over to one of the cupboard in the kitchen, opened the door, and grabbed the box that her and her father had put together for medical emergencies. She hauled it up the stairs, and pushed open the door with her foot. She walked in, and almost dropped the box as she glanced again at Link, lying half naked on her bed. It wasn't hard foe Malon's imagination to run with the situation.
Malon sat the first aid box on the chair in her room, and took out a roll of gauze, a bandage strip, a needle, and some twine. She brought the handful of supplies over to the bed, and set them on the nightstand by the bed. She looked over at Link, lying on the bed. She knew that he wasn't the biggest fan of getting stitched up, and he knew she knew. He couldn't help but tremble every time Malon brought out the needle and the twine. It was hard for Malon to patch him up when he was like this, and today he was especially bad. It didn't look like she'd be able to take his mind off it just by talking to him, like she normally did. She did, however, have another idea. It was pretty extreme, but Malon knew it was the only thing that would do anything to him.
"Link, close your eyes." Malon ordered.
"Please tell me you're just going to stick me while I've got my eyes closed." he pleaded.
"Link, I'm not going to do that. Just close your eyes." she told him again.
Link did as Malon told him to do. Link could hear Malon shuffling around the room, but he had no idea what she was doing. Then Link felt Malon sit down on the bed next to him.
Okay Link. You can open your eyes now." Malon told him. Link could hear something sounding like uneasiness in her voice, and was unsure of whether or not he should open his eyes.
He decided to chance it, though, and slowly opened his eyes. Needless to say, he was not expecting what he saw.
There sat Malon on the side of the bed. That wasn't what surprised him. What surprised him was the fact that she was sitting on the side of the bed in only her underwear. Link's eyes widened at the sight.
"Malon, what are you doing?" Link asked her.
"You always shake too much Link. I can't fix you when you do, so I'm helping you calm down." Malon told him.
And while it did work, he didn't stop completely. Malon had anticipated this, however, and so before she started, she got Link's attention one more time.
"Link, I don't want you to focus on the needle. I want you to focus here." she told him as she reached around her back and unclasped her bra. She tossed it in the corner, and Link's eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets.
He couldn't believe what Malon was doing. She could see that. But he also wasn't struggling anymore. His gaze was completely fixated on her chest. Malon was glad that she could have this effect on Link. As she finished cleaning and stitching his wound, she noticed just how much of an effect she was having on him, since she could feel the pressure on her leg increasing.
"Well, well Link, what have we here?" she grinned mischievously as she allowed her hand to wander lower and lower...
"Malon? You there?" Link asked, once again snapping Malon out of her thoughts.
"Wow, Malon. That was a little intense, wasn't it?" she asked herself, surprised at her imagination.
She brought the first aid box over to the chair, and brought out the supplies that she knew she would need to patch up Link's arm. First she cleaned the blood from the wound, and then disinfected it with the hydrogen peroxide. She brought the out the needle and thread that would let her stitch the gash closed, and watched as Link started to shake, just as she knew he would.
"Oh Link, stop being such a baby. Take it like a hero. I'm sure you've faced alot worse than this needle." She told him, hoping to get some sort of reaction from him.
"Well, Malon, that may be true. But you know that I've never liked needles. I mean, look at that thing. How can something so small cause someone so mush pain. It's not natural. The needle is not a creation of the goddesses. Why Naryu, in her infinite wisdom, let anyone stick something like that into another person is beyond me." Link told her, just like he had every time before.
"Done." Malon said, taking her concentration form Link's now patched arm and untying her scarf from where it was.
"Link, I gave this to you after you saved the ranch. That was months ago. Did you ever once take it off. Every time you came back to the ranch and needed some patching up, you always had it on." Malon asked.
"Well, Mal, I never really wanted to. After all, it's special to me." he told her.
Link was glad to see that this comment put a smile on Malon's face.
"Aw Link, I'm flattered." Malon said as she wrapped Link's arm in gauze, and then a bandage. "All patched up. I'm going to go put together the basket for our picnic, Link. You better put on a clean tunic. I'll make sure to wash the other one for you."
"Malon, how many times have I told you that you're the best?" Link asked her as she walked out of the room.
"Not nearly enough, fairy boy. Not nearly enough." was her response as she walked down the stairs.
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Half an hour later, and both Link and Malon were heading out the door of the house. Navi had opted to stay and just relax. Link didn't blame her, but he also thought there was another reason she was staying back, one that she just wasn't telling him.
"So, Malon, care to tell me where you'd planned on going?" Link asked.
"I was kinda hoping that we could go to Lake Hylia, Link." Malon told him.
"Okay, Mal. I'll go saddle up Epona then." he responded.
"Actually Link, I'd like to leave Epona here. She seems tired. She isn't used to being run all around Hyrule." Malon confessed.
"Mal, you realize that walking to Lake Hylia could take us a couple of hours, don't you?" Link asked. "You're lucky I know a shortcut. Come here."
Malon's heart started to beat faster as Link wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled out his ocarina. He brought it to his lips and played a quick tune. Malon was surprised when everything around her dissolved, and then formed itself into the island in the center of Laky Hylia.
"Link, how did you do that?" Malon asked.
"I learned a few tricks during my adventure. There's a couple tunes I can play that will get me around Hyrule quickly." he told her.
"That's handy" she commented.
Malon walked over to the shore of the island, and set down the basket she'd brought with her. She pulled out the blanket she had, and spread it out on the ground by the lake. She set the basket on the blanket, and motioned Link over to sit with her.
"Wow, Mal. You really didn't have to go all out for this." Link told her as he looked in the basket and brought out candles, a couple of sandwiches for both of them, and some bottle of Lon Lon milk.
"I know." she responded. "But I really wanted tonight to go well"
"That's really nice, Mal." Link said as he checked the basket one more time. "But it's going to be really hard to light the candles without any matches."
"What? You must be blind, fairy boy. I know that I put matches in that basket. You're just not looking hard enough. Give it to me."
Link handed her the basket, and Malon proceeded to pull everything out of the basket in her search for the matches. The longer she searched, the more desperate Link could see she was becoming.
"Damn it, Malon. How in the name of the three goddesses could you forget the fucking matches!" Link heard her muttering to herself as she stuck her head into the basket.
This was when Link decided that it was time for him to do something. Luckily, for both him and Malon, he did have something that he could do. He'd discovered once that the spell he had found that had allowed him to set fire to his arrowheads also allowed him to set fire to other things. Of course, it had it's limitations, mostly that he could only use it on things that were about five feet or closer. He'd discovered this handy skill about a month and a half ago, in Geurdo Fortress.
--Flashback--
"Okay Navi, I'm going to set that tapestry on fire to create a distraction." Link told his fairy as he pulled out his fairy bow and set an arrow.
As he muttered the spell that would set the arrowhead on fire, he began to smell something foul. He realized that it was his tunic. Well, he had been thrown in a freaking jail, after all. Who knew what was in that cell. Wait, was something burning?
"Uh, Link." Navi said, floating in his face. "You set the wrong thing on fire. You might want to take off your tunic before you get burned."
"Oh shit!" Link hollered, immediately drawing attention to himself as he started dancing around. "Stop, drop, and roll!"
--Flashback--
"Yeah, that wasn't fun." Link thought as he began to mutter the spell, directing his will to lighting the candles. He smiled when the two candle tips burst into their own small flames and began to glow.
"Hey Mal, you can stop now. the candles are lit." Link said, looking over at Malon, whose head was still stuck in the basket, looking for the matches that she would never find.
"Uh, Link. I need some help. I think my head is stuck in this stupid basket." she informed him.
"Malon, what would you do without me?" he asked as he grabbed the basket. "This might hurt a little."
He then yanked on the basket as hard as he could. Luckily, it was more than enough to remove the basket from Malon's head.
"Thanks, fairy boy." she said, rubbing the spot on her forehead where the basket had rubbed quite a bit.
Link was silent as he took her hand and pulled it away from her forehead. "Let me." he said as he leaned in a kissed her on the forehead. She sucked the air in through her teeth as his lips made contact with the raw skin on her forehead, but she was immediately glad for the cool contact that he gave. Her forehead started throbbing less and less, and then she could no longer feel any pain.
"How's that, Mal?" Link asked her as he moved away.
"Much better. Thank you." she told him, as she felt yet another blush creep its way over her cheeks.
"Let's eat." Link said, handing her one of the sandwiches she'd made.
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Link and Malon both lay on their backs, having already finished their meal. Malon decided to scoot over and lie next to Link, placing her head on his chest.
"Link, tell me about the constellations. You must have learned alot of them on your journey." Malon said. The stars were something that had always fascinated her. She would often lie in the horse field looking up at the night sky. But she had never been able to learn about the constellations.
"Well, Mal, I didn't really learn too much while I was gone. Just some of the names that the different races have for their own constellations." he told her.
"I'd like to know those, then." she told him from her spot on his chest.
"Well, the Gorons call that one," he said, pointing to one constellation, "Volvagia, and they call that one," he said, pointing to another, "The Hammer. The Zoras call this one over here," he said, pointing to yet another one, "Jabu-Jabu. And the only one the Geurdo would tell me about was that one." Link said, pointing to a cluster of stars far off from the others. "The call it the Goddess of the Sands. They told me the rest of the constellations the have were from their home across the seas. We Hylians have quite a few more. Over there, you can see Din, and next to her is Farore, and the Nayru. And it is widely believed by the Hylians that that star," Link told her, pointing out the brightest star in the sky, "actually leads to the Sacred Realm. People say that the star glows so bright because of the glow of the Triforce. Although, I'm not so sure about that one. I mean, Ganondorf got hold of the Triforce and split it, after all. So how can the star still glow if the Triforce is gone?"
"Link, do you know how lucky you are?" Malon asked.
"Mal, what do you mean?"
"I mean, you got to travel all over Hyrule these past couple of months. You go to see things that most people only hear stories about. I mean, how many of the Geurdo have even been to their own Colossus? Or how many Zora's have been inside Jabu Jabu? That's why I envy you, Link." she told him.
"Really, Mal? I never knew you felt that way."
"I've always wanted to travel, Link. I never got the chance, because I'm always so busy with the ranch. But travel has always been a dream of mine." she confessed.
"You know, I never thought of it that way. When you say it like that, I guess you're right. I was kinda lucky, huh?" Link said, laying back and just watching the stars.
Malon had never seen him like this. She'd always thought that Link had been happy to run around Hyrule, saving everyone. But he'd just told her, in a roundabout way, the he really wasn't. And she could guess why. He'd always come back to the ranch dragging his feet. He never really got a break once he'd walked out the gates, on to his next adventure. his life had certainly been in danger more times than one, and from what he'd told her, without those handy red fairies he always carried on him, he probably wouldn't be lying here with her. He never really had a choice in it, either. Malon knew that she wouldn't be happy if she was in his shoes.
"This is it, Malon. Just tell him, right here, how you feel. You can do it."
Link must have seen the struggle on her face, because he piped up.
"You okay there, Mal?"
"Huh?" she said, snapping out of her thoughts. "Oh, yeah, just thinking about something."
"Care to tell me what?" he asked.
"Well, Link..." she started. "Come on! Tell him. It's really easy! 'Link, I love you.' Say it!"
"I...Well, I...uh...I'm really glad you can stay with me for a while this time."
"Wow, Malon. That sure didn't sound like 'I love you' to me. It sounded more like you chickened out!"
"Gee, Mal. I'm really glad I can stay with you for a while too." Link said. "Now, how about we get this stuff picked up. I'll call Epona, because it's a long walk back to the ranch."
Link pulled out his ocarina again, and played the song that Malon had taught him seven years ago. Malon was surprised when Epona galloped up to them about a minute later. By that time, Link had already packed away what was left of their picnic.
"Link, how did she get here so quick?" Malon asked, knowing that even with a horse, the ranch was an hour away.
"Don't ask me. I never figured it out myself." he responded, tying the basket to Epona's saddle.
Link then lifted Malon onto Epona, and climbed up in front of her. She wrapped her arms around him as he grabbed the reins, and they headed off, back towards the ranch. Malon was content to lay her head on Link's back, and was soon asleep. Her dreams were filled with dragons made of stars, as they fought against a small figure in the heavens.
Well, there you have it. Chapter two is finished. It's quite a bit longer than my last chapter, but I just couldn't figure out where I wanted to stop. I've already got an idea for what's going to be happening in chapter three, so be looking for it soon. I don't like to keep you guys waiting. Until then, please drop a review for me. I'd really like to know what your thoughts are on the first two chapters.
I'm always willing to take ideas. If there's something you want me to incorporate into a future, please just say it in a review. My ideas only last so long. Leave your name with it, and if I use it, you'll get the credit.
